It was getting dark by the time Max saw the rusted roofs of the trailer park appear in the distance. It had taken her almost an hour to get home on foot since she'd left her skateboard in the Wheeler's foyer in her rush to flee the scene of her humiliation. Now her feet were aching as well as her heart.
She kept replaying the embarrassing ordeal in her head while trudging along the side of the road and chain-smoking cigarettes. At first, she'd been confused when Mike had leaped off of her like she was contaminated and then once she'd heard it was El on the phone her heart just sank. She had no desire to stick around to witness him getting back together with his ex in real time, so she'd hastily straightened her clothes and made a run for the door without looking back.
Because of course that's what happened. It was Mike and El. The frickin' golden couple. They were the ones everyone expected to be together. Not Mike and Max—a mismatch that baffled everyone who found out about it.
Max sighed wearily as she finally turned down the gravel access road to the trailer park. To top it all off, the sunset had been insufferably beautiful the entire time, streaks of pink and orange painting the sky like a watercolour and taunting her relentlessly. And if that wasn't enough her underwear was still uncomfortably damp and rubbing against her, a constant reminder of what they'd been doing just before the phone call.
Her traitorous body gave a throb of desire as flashes of Mike shirtless above her floated to the forefront of her mind. She definitely liked what she'd seen. His body reminded her of the often-shirtless skater boys she'd grown up around; beefy jocks had never really done it for her. She thought back to what Rachel had said about tall, skinny boys. Now, Max had absolutely zero frame of reference but his… thing had certainly felt intimidating through the layers of clothing. The memory of his erection grinding down between her legs made her want to squeeze her thighs together instinctively. No. Stop it, she berated herself. Her body clearly hadn't gotten the memo that that was over.
Max's almost painfully tense shoulders relaxed a little when she saw the parking spot was empty and her mother had already left for work. Her eyes were stinging with unshed tears as she fumbled with the key, and when she finally got the door unlocked and stumbled inside the trailer she couldn't hold them back anymore. Her vision blurred and they spilled down her cheeks as she leaned back against the door and sank to the floor with a pathetic whimper. She pulled up her legs and buried her face in her knees, stifled sobs wracking her body as the pent-up emotions crashed over her all at once.
God, she was stupid, so fucking stupid for thinking things could work out for her. This is what she deserved for falling for a guy who was still in love with someone else. Mike had fucking told her to her face that he wasn't sure if he was over El and Max had been so desperate for someone to want her that she'd just brushed it off like an idiot. El came calling and he'd literally dumped Max on the floor.
She felt a painful stab in her chest as she remembered how she'd seemingly ceased to exist when he'd answered the phone. He didn't even look at her once—all that mattered was what El had to say.
Max let her head fall back against the door with a thud. She sniffled and wiped her runny nose on the back of her arm, not caring how disgusting it was. Everyone always left her eventually. It was better to take herself out of the equation before that could happen.
She dragged herself to her feet, not bothering to turn on the lights as she felt her way through the darkened trailer to her room. She tore off her sweaty clothes, including her one kind of nice black bra that she'd worn intentionally. Stupid. Max cringed as she peeled her still-damp panties off and tossed it onto her laundry pile, quickly pulling on some clean boyshorts from her dresser. Then without thinking too hard about it, she put on the grey Pacers t-shirt she was still holding onto. It didn't even smell like Mike anymore because she'd finally caved and washed it after a longer period of time than she cared to admit, but it was still a source of comfort. Even when he was the reason for her sadness.
She looked at herself in the mirror above her dresser. Her eyes were red and puffy, tears streaking down her cheeks, Mike's stolen shirt swallowing her small frame—she'd never felt more pathetic in her life.
Max flopped backwards onto her bed and reached over to turn on her stereo, bursting into laughter at the incredible irony when she realized she'd last been listening to Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear. The universe must be having a hell of a laugh at the fact that she and Mike had just been hooking up to his definitive makeout album and now here she was an hour later crying to his breakup album. Her borderline hysterical laughter dissolved into tears after a few seconds, and she turned her face into her pillow to muffle her sobs.
This whole time Max was just the consolation prize Mike had settled for when the one he really wanted hadn't wanted him anymore. He'd probably had one foot out the door from the very beginning. She brought her knees up to her chest, curling herself into a ball and wishing she could just disappear.
Max was startled awake by a tapping at her window. She sat up in confusion, realizing she'd fallen asleep on top of her blankets, her muscles stiff from the curled-up position she'd been in. The soft tapping happened again and she jumped to her feet and turned on her lamp. She opened her curtains and cautiously peered out her window to see Mike standing there, messy hair peeking out of the hood of his sweatshirt, looking up at her with a hopeful expression on his face. Apparently, he was tall enough that he could reach her window from the ground. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was almost two in the morning, which meant her mom was likely already passed out on the couch.
Max slid the window open carefully and knelt down to bring herself closer to him. "What the hell are you doing here Mike?"
"I had to wait until my family was asleep so I could take the car," he whispered through the screen. He held up her skateboard like an offering. "I brought your board back."
"Okay, you can leave it by the front door," she said, reaching for the window pane to close it.
"Max, wait!" he exclaimed, wincing when he heard a dog start barking somewhere in the distance. "Can we talk, please?" he asked in a quieter voice. Max's heart was screaming at her to slam the window shut and crawl back into bed, but she must have been a masochist because she just sighed and nodded her head instead.
"I'll come out there," she whispered before standing and turning off her lamp. Her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest as she slowly turned her doorknob and opened her squeaky bedroom door. She paused and heard the sound of her mom's steady breathing from the living room over the static of the tv that she'd left on.
Max tiptoed down the hall and past her mother who was curled up under the crocheted blanket, snoring lightly. The only source of light in the room was coming from the colourful off-air graphic that was burning itself into the television. She froze again when she opened the front door, ensuring she hadn't woken her mom before quickly slipping outside and closing it gently behind her.
She took a deep breath and turned around, her stomach flipping with anxiety as she made her way toward Mike and his cautious half-smile. The trailer park was silent, the only visible light coming from the dim street light at the end of the access road and the perfect crescent of the moon.
A cool breeze on her legs made her realize she'd come outside in nothing but Mike's shirt. Shit. Her cheeks heated up in embarrassment and she tugged down the hem, suddenly feeling way too exposed, both physically and emotionally.
She padded down the steps, stopping on the bottom one since her feet were bare. Mike slowly came to stand in front of her, holding out her skateboard. She grabbed it and placed it on the porch behind her before turning back to face him, startled when he was closer than he'd been before, less than a foot of space between them now. They were closer in height than usual since she was standing on the stairs but she still had to tilt her head up to look at him.
"Is that my shirt?" he asked as his gaze raked over her, lingering on her chest where her nipples had decided to make an untimely appearance in the cold air. Max felt herself blushing again and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I can wash it and give it back to you," she mumbled, digging her nails into her palms at her carelessness.
"No, keep it," Mike smiled softly. "It looks better on you anyway." Max's body betrayed her as her heart skipped a beat at that familiar smile. She clenched her teeth and fought to maintain a neutral expression on her face. "You uh, you ran off this afternoon," he said after it became apparent she wasn't going to respond.
Max tightened her arms around herself. "Yeah, well I didn't think you'd notice," she said, looking down at her feet. "Or care."
He sighed, pulling back his hood so he could run a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry that I ignored you, Max. It's just, El called and it completely rattled me…" He swallowed audibly, jamming both his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. "She- she wrote me this letter over spring break, and I threw it out without reading it. It uh, turns out she wants to get back together."
Max felt the chasm in her heart widen. She was right. They were going to be over before they really began. Tears began to gather in her eyes again and she held herself tighter, her hands aching with the tenseness of her fingers wrapped around her own arms as she tried to will herself into holding them in.
"But I told her it was too late," Mike said, his words rushing out so fast she wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. She snapped her head up after a second to look up at him in confusion. What the fuck is he talking about? "I told her I've moved on and that I have feelings for someone else," he added, smiling down at her nervously.
"What?" Max blinked rapidly as she processed what he'd said. "You- why would you do that?" she breathed, brows knitting together as she searched his face for a sign that this was some kind of cruel joke.
"Because it's you, Max," he said quietly. He closed the distance between them, leaning his forehead against hers. "You're the one I want to be with." Max let her eyes fall closed and Mike's hands came to rest lightly on her hips.
She could feel her resolve crumbling as she breathed him in. How could she not cave when he showed up with his sad eyes and his sweet words, smelling so deliciously and comfortingly like Mike?
He tilted his head, nudging their noses together, and then they were kissing, her arms automatically uncrossing and wrapping around his neck as he tightened his grip on her hips, pulling her body flush against his. Lips and teeth clashed together desperately without reprieve, and he moaned into her mouth as she trailed her nails over his scalp and tugged at his hair. Mike's palms slid upwards to her ribcage, taking the hem of her shirt with them. She didn't even care that she was basically flashing her underwear to the entire trailer park, not when it felt so right having his lips moving rhythmically against her own.
His hand drifted up over her breast, palm grazing her nipple as he spread his long, elegant fingers over her. It sent a shiver through her that reignited the earlier heat between her thighs. It felt good. Too good.
It was almost enough to make her forget what she was scared of in the first place. Almost. El. Heartbreak. Loneliness. The thoughts slammed through her in rapid succession, bursting the delicate bubble of their impulsive reconciliation. She wrenched herself away from Mike's mouth, placing her palms firmly on his chest and pushing him away.
"Max?" he murmured, blinking his eyes open and looking at her in confusion.
"No I- I can't do this," she breathed, yanking down the hem of her shirt before wrapping her arms tightly around herself again.
Mike frowned and took a step towards her. "Max what are you-"
"No, Mike." Max backed away from him, retreating further up the stairs. "I just… I think you should be with El," she blurted out, trying her best to ignore the painful twinge in her chest those words caused. "This is the girl you radioed every day for three hundred and fifty-three days not even knowing if she was trapped in an alternate dimension or- or even alive, for fucks sake! I mean what are we even doing? I'm just a rebound, right? It's you and El. It's always been you and El." Her breath was coming quickly now, and she could feel her face and neck turning red. Mike just stared at her with a look that was equal parts hurt and bewildered, and he looked like he was about to say something so she just kept going.
"I was just a distraction from your pining. That's what you said, right? I make you feel good, you like being around me. Why? Because I help you forget about her and I let you feel me up?" she cried, knowing she sounded crazy but she just needed to get him to leave. And that must have been Mike's limit because, in a few quick strides, he was in front of her again, towering over her even from the step below.
"Max, don't do this," he begged, reaching for her and freezing when she flinched away from him. "Please listen to me."
Max shook her head and fixed her gaze somewhere over his shoulder. She didn't even really know what she was saying anymore but she had to protect her heart. "We should just call it. Before we're in too deep. I mean it's not like we labelled it or anything so-" Mike's bemused face was suddenly illuminated by a light coming on behind her, and she whipped around at the sound of the door opening.
Her mom poked her head out of the trailer, looking thoroughly unimpressed as she pulled her robe tightly around herself. "What the hell is going on out here, Maxine?" Her eyes narrowed when they landed on Mike, fixing him with a distrustful glare. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Nothing Mom, he was just leaving," Max muttered as she darted up the last step and ducked under her mom's arm without glancing back.
"You better get going, then," she heard her mother saying to Mike as Max practically sprinted down the hallway to her room and shut the door behind her.
Her chest was heaving as she tried to replay what she'd even said just now; she felt like she'd just blacked out and vomited her emotions all over him. In too deep? There's no way Max wasn't already in too deep. She was at the bottom of the fucking ocean.
She sat on top of her bed, knees tucked up under her chin as she listened for the sound of the station wagon pulling away, followed by the sound of her mom locking the door and situating herself on the sofa again, her breathing evening out after a few minutes.
Then Max retrieved a joint from her nightstand, put her Walkman on her ears, sat beneath her open window, and proceeded to get so stoned she couldn't form a coherent thought—crawling into the warm cocoon of gloom created by the melancholy vocals of Joni Mitchell.
The next day Max woke up around noon feeling restless and antsy—like she wanted to crawl out of her skin. Her mother had the day off so when Max had stormed out of her room and said she was taking the car and going to Rachel's for the day, Susan had just given her a tired wave from the couch and gone back to sleep.
The Volvo lurched forward as Max shifted gears aggressively and peeled out of the trailer park, cigarette clenched between her teeth and The Runaways' self-titled album blasting through the speakers. She cranked down the window and leaned her elbow on the edge, savouring the invigorating feeling of the wind on her face.
Glancing down at the speedometer needle she kept her foot steadily on the gas, feeling more than seeing when the RPMs were appropriately high and then reaching for the gearshift, listening for the brief pause followed by a satisfying clunk as she released the clutch and the transmission engaged the next gear.
Max loved driving, but she rarely got to do it since her mother usually needed the car. The first thing she was doing once she had enough money to leave Hawkins was get a car of her own. Preferably a manual transmission. I wonder if Mike knows how to drive stick. Maybe I could teach- she stopped herself and shook the thought out of her head, remembering that wasn't even an option anymore. She frowned and turned up the volume on the stereo, Cherie Currie's raspy vocals tuning out her wistful thoughts.
An hour later Max found herself in Rachel's spacious backyard, lounging on the opposite end of a cushioned patio swing from her friend as they passed a chilled bottle of white wine back and forth. The weather was irritatingly at odds with her mood again, warm and sunny with not a single cloud in the sky. The swing was situated in the back corner of the yard, soothingly swaying beneath a majestic oak tree whose leaves were fluttering in the breeze. The whole scene was very idyllic and annoying.
"-and then I told him we should just call it off," Max said matter-of-factly, grabbing the bottle from Rachel's outstretched hand and taking a swig. She winced at the sour taste the wine left on the back of her tongue but found she was getting more used to it the more she drank.
"Okay hold on, back up," Rachel said, sitting up as she lowered her heart-shaped sunglasses and peered at Max over the top of them. "So he said he doesn't want to get back with his ex?"
Max took another sip from the half-empty bottle before passing it back. Her palm was wet from the condensation that had been beading on the glass and she patted it onto the back of her neck to cool herself off, unsure if she was feeling particularly warm from the alcohol or from ranting about Mike for the past forty-five minutes. Probably both.
"Yeah," she nodded, "and then he just starts kissing me and I'm like no, you should go back and call El because deep down you're still in love with her. I mean-"
"Max," Rachel started cautiously, running her tongue over her teeth as she appeared to contemplate her next words, "can I keep it real with you? And don't get mad at me because I can tell you have a short fuse."
Max narrowed her eyes at her friend, slightly offended at her not-entirely inaccurate assessment. "Okay…"
"You're being very fucking dumb."
Max's jaw dropped in surprise and she scoffed indignantly. She hadn't been expecting that. Rachel was usually the first one to lament the numerous shortcomings of the opposite sex. The swing jerked side to side as Rachel shifted and sat up on her knees, giving Max an appraising look.
"Why are you sabotaging this, dude?" she asked, her voice more gentle this time. "The boy was practically begging on his knees for another chance, this other girl wasn't even a factor anymore."
Max dropped her gaze down to her lap and took a deep breath before glancing back up at Rachel, who watched her patiently. "I just- I don't wanna get hurt, I guess," she mumbled, picking at a fresh scab on her knee.
"But you're already hurt!" Rachel exclaimed, gesturing at her wildly with the wine bottle. "Look at you. You're getting hammered at one in the afternoon on a Sunday. You're miserable!" Max snatched the bottle from her and took another long sip, not caring that she basically just proved Rachel's point. "And these past few weeks when you were finally with Mike, I've never seen you happier," she added, giving Max a compassionate smile.
Max threw her head back against the pillows, staring up at the tropical print fabric of the canopy. "You don't know what they used to have," she sighed, picturing the look on Mike's face every time he so much as glanced at El—as if she'd hung the damn stars in the sky. "You didn't see him after she broke it off, he was so fucking depressed, you don't just get over that in two months… You probably never fully do."
"I'm sure he'll always care about her, but he chose you, Max," Rachel said, exasperation evident in her tone. She took the bottle from Max and took another swig before handing it back. "And I may not have seen him with her, but I've seen the way he looks at you. And that shit is fucking real."
Max propped her head up as she drank from the nearly empty bottle, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Rach, I'll always be the default choice. He was probably thinking about her when we were together. And if she was still here then-"
"But she's not!" Rachel rolled her eyes. "There's no use beating yourself over the head with hypotheticals. And she's in California now anyway! I mean it's not like she can teleport here and tempt him away or something." Well, not exactly teleport but… Max frowned as she thought of El's telepathic abilities. Sure, they were currently diminished but who's to say the Power of Love wouldn't return them or something? She let her head fall back against the pillows again, starting to feel dizzy from the wine and the ceaseless back and forth motion of the swing.
"They just like, had this crazy connection I don't think I could ever live up to," she mumbled, pressing the heels of her hands against her eye sockets.
"Oh, gimme a break," Rachel grumbled, polishing off the wine bottle and tossing it carelessly onto the grass. "They were fourteen years old for fucks sake, how in love could they have been?" Max winced, thinking about the extreme lengths Mike had gone to for El and vice versa.
Rachel grabbed Max's hands and hauled her up to a seated position, keeping their hands intertwined as she looked her in the eyes. "Why are you so afraid of being happy?"
Max scraped her teeth over her bottom lip, looking down at Rachel's flawlessly painted black fingernails. "I guess…" Rachel gave her hands a supportive squeeze and Max exhaled sharply through her nose. "I guess I don't feel like I deserve to be," she confessed quietly, hating how her voice cracked over the words.
"But why?" Rachel's dark eyebrows knit together in concern. Billy, Max thought, images of the Mindflayer tearing through his body flashing through her mind, memories of the light leaving his eyes as she begged him to stay awake.
"Because he died in the mall fire?" Rachel asked, ripping Max from her thoughts. She must have been drunker than she thought because she didn't realize she'd said his name out loud. "Max, that's not your fault." Max cringed and yanked her hands back, knowing Rachel would never know the full extent of it, would never truly understand what Billy had done for her. "Are you just gonna punish yourself forever then? Is that the plan?"
Max dropped her head into her hands, taking deep, even breaths while she tried to calm her alcohol-jumbled mind, distorted images of Billy and Mike and her dad floating through her thoughts and melding together.
"Hey," Rachel said softly as she pulled Max into a tight hug. "It's okay, dude." Max let her chin rest on Rachel's shoulder, inhaling her expensive-smelling perfume as she patted Max's back comfortingly.
Max felt the tension leaving her body as she mulled over her friend's words. She was right, she couldn't just resign herself to being unhappy forever—then Billy's sacrifice would truly have been for nothing. She was so afraid of getting hurt again that she was just hurting herself preemptively, and that was certainly no way to live.
"Oh god, I am being fucking stupid aren't I?" Max murmured into Rachel's dark brown curls.
Rachel laughed and pulled back, resting her hands on Max's shoulders and giving her a gentle shake. "Duh, that's what I've been saying. But that's okay, lord knows I've lost my fucking mind over a guy more times than I can count." Max laughed and wiped at the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes, suddenly feeling very silly about her emotional breakdown. She was blaming it on the wine.
"Tomorrow you're gonna look cute, and you're gonna march into that school and get your man back, got it?"
"What if- what if I've fucked it up already?" Max asked, pushing at her cuticles. "I mean what teenage boy would put up with my shit?"
"One who really, really likes you?" Rachel replied, patting Max's cheek. "Just stay positive okay? I have a good feeling about this." Max nodded and flashed her a grateful smile. She was lucky to have such an honest friend in her life.
"Okay," Rachel said, jumping up off the swing and taking a second to get her balance, "now let's go eat some chips and brainstorm guys for me to date until we sober up." Max swayed as she got to her feet, grabbing into Rachel's shoulder for support. "Because out of the two of us, you're the only one getting any at the moment," she lamented, scooping up the empty wine bottle before linking her elbow with Max's.
"You're not?" Max asked as they stumbled across the immaculately manicured lawn.
Rachel shrugged. "No one's caught my eye lately."
"Mike's friend Phil is newly single."
"Phil McDonnell from the JV baseball team?" Rachel asked. Max nodded. "Been there, done that."
"Excuse me?" she gasped, a delighted grin spreading over her face at this new information. "When?"
"End of the summer last year, we were both in the same driver's ed class, we got to talking one afternoon afterwards… and then I took him for a test ride."
"Wow, okay," Max laughed.
"It was actually pretty fun," Rachel mused as they reached the house. "Maybe it's time for a repeat performance…"
The next day Max felt like her whole body was vibrating with anxiety as she exited the bus and made her way through the doors of the school. She had a plan. She was going to wait for Mike at his locker and then just… tell him how she felt. And hope to god her repeated bouts of emotional instability hadn't scared him off. She was still terrified that it was too late, that she'd pushed him away one too many times. Max took a deep breath, tugging down the lettuce hem of her green t-shirt and smoothing down her hair which she'd left down for once, before turning the corner towards the hallway.
She'd just finished putting her things in her locker when she heard someone come up behind her and stop. Her stomach lurched when she turned and was faced with Mike leaning his shoulder against the locker next to hers, arms crossed as he looked down at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Hey," she said, clutching her history textbook tightly to her chest like a shield.
He tilted his head as he continued to look at her blankly. "Hi."
"Mike I-"
"No," he said firmly, cutting her off. "I'm gonna talk and you're going to listen for once in your life." Max closed her mouth and nodded, taken aback by his stern voice that she'd only heard him use a handful of times before. She tightened her fingers around the edges of her book and prepared for the worst.
"You are… the most stubborn girl I've ever met. And you're temperamental, and overly competitive, and kind of fickle, and an absolutely terrible bowler." Mike paused and took a deep breath that felt like it lasted for minutes. "And I don't give a shit about any of that. Because you're also pretty, and spontaneous, and way smarter than you want people to think you are, and you're so fucking funny and you have insanely awesome taste in music and I'm just- I'm crazy about you, Max. And I want to be with you, okay? Only you. You could never just be a rebound to me, I promise. There is no 'me and El' anymore. It's just me and you."
Max felt completely off-kilter as she stared up at his tentative smile, certain she must be dreaming. He'd just said everything she'd wanted to hear, and it would be so easy to throw her whole prepared speech in the trash and jump into his arms, but she knew she had to lay all her cards on the table as well.
"Can I talk now?" she asked, cringing at the tremble in her voice. Mike looked taken aback for a second and then he nodded, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
Max took a deep breath and consciously relaxed her iron grip on her textbook, letting it fall to her side. "I'm- I'm kind of a mess," she started, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "There's something… ugly and fucked up inside of me. I probably have depression and post-traumatic stress, and I've been better lately but I might still have some days I'm not gonna be able to get out of bed, or put on a happy face. And I have trouble trusting people, especially men because there's been so many that have waltzed in and out of my life. I- I guess that's why I have trouble believing you when you say you won't hurt me, but I promise I'm working on it." She inhaled shakily. "And if that's something you can't handle, or I'm just too much of an emotionally unstable psycho then I totally get it, but I need to know before we go any further. Are you in or are you out?"
Mike took a step closer, wrapping his fingers loosely around her wrist, and she was sure he could feel her pulse racing under his fingertips as he swiped his thumb gently over her forearm.
"Max I know you," he said, reaching out with his other hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, fingertips tracing from her jaw to her chin. "More than you think I do. And nothing you're saying is scaring me off, okay? I've been all in. You're the one who's been afraid of us. So I think the better question is are you in? Really in?"
This time there was not a shred of doubt in Max's mind, no terrified voice screaming at her to run. She'd had her walls up for so long—her whole life really, but something in his eyes and the way he was looking at her made her believe him. It was time to let someone in. For real this time.
So it was without any hesitation that she grinned up at him and said, "Yeah I-"
Her back hit the locker, her words silenced by Mike's mouth as he kissed her, his warm, soft lips capturing her bottom lip and then her top lip, gently tugging at each one in turn before tracing his tongue in between them. Max parted them for him like she always does, the tips of their tongues dancing together slowly.
His warm hands were cupping her face, and he tasted like toothpaste, and it was all so overwhelmingly slow and methodical and hot that she wanted to scream. She let her textbook fall to the floor with a soft thud before grabbing onto his wrists to steady herself, feeling like her heart was exploding and fireworks were going off underneath her skin.
The slam of a locker somewhere behind her reminded her that they were fully sucking face in the middle of school, so she forced herself to break the kiss, pulling Mike's hands from her face and leaning her head back against the locker as she panted up at him. He was still leaning over her, hand braced next to her head as he gazed down at her intensely.
Max tore her eyes away from his, glancing around and realizing a few people had turned around, staring at their flagrant public display of affection.
Before she had a chance to be embarrassed he bent down and picked her textbook up from the floor, tucking it under his arm, and then handed her her backpack before grabbing her hand, intertwining their fingers as he started down the hall in the direction of her history class.
"What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly as he tugged her along behind him.
"Holding my girlfriend's fucking hand," Mike deadpanned before looking over at her and raising an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"
"No," she quickly replied, beaming up at him as she sped up to fall into step with him. He gave her hand a squeeze and her heart did that familiar flip it so often did in his presence. God, he made her flustered.
Max turned her gaze forward just as they approached Dustin and Lucas, who were walking in the opposite direction. Both of the boys' eyes widened in surprise at seeing the two of them as a couple in public for the first time. After a second, Dustin gave them what Max thought was an approving nod while Lucas's gaze flicked between her and Mike and then down to their interlocked hands like he was trying to figure something out, his face morphing into what almost looked like understanding.
But that was a reaction Max didn't really care to analyze right at that moment because her boyfriend was carrying her books and holding her hand and walking her to her class.
And it felt perfectly right.