𝙴𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 ~ 𝙴𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚡

《𝟸𝟿》

August 26, 1985
8:12 PM

The light in the room was slowly turning darker and darker as the Sun started to set outside the cabin, turning the sky into an endless mix of bright orange and yellow while quiet snores still sounded inside El's room. Her and Max were still sleeping on the brunette's bed, comfortable in each other's presence. El moved her head from Max's side to the pillow while she was asleep, completely oblivious to the fact that if she moved just a little forward, her and Max's nose could brush together without much effort. The redhead was the first one to wake up and it's an understatement to say that her eyes went from a little open to wide in less than two seconds when she saw El's face right in front of her. The girl didn't remember when and where she fell asleep so she was a little confused the first minute or two. She then propped herself up on her elbows and looked to the other side of the room that was mostly covered in dark by now. She then realised that she heard an engine stop outside the cabin and tensed up. The chief is home? How long did she sleep?

~ "Max?" She heard a tiny voice coming from beside her and looked down at the pillow, seeing El who was now awake and trying to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. The redhead just shook her head a little.

~ "Hey. You can go back to sleep, E. I just need to go home now." Max said although she never considered her house her home.

~ "...Sleep over?" El asked, sitting up beside Max and looking at her through the darkness now.

~ "Uh...I don't think Hopper would allow that, El. Tomorrow's a week day, which means school." Max tried to hide how much she'd actually love to stay overnight, scratching her arm just to have her hands somehow occupied.

~ "So?" El asked again with a puzzled expression.

~ "So, we have to wake up early. And for that you need to sleep, which I don't think we would do if I slept over." Max explained matter-of-factly and El just shrugged.

~ "We slept now." The brunette said, making Max smile a bit. She made a point. The redhead's eyes then sparkled even though El couldn't see it through the dark.

~ "I have an idea." Max said with a tone in her voice that El recognised immediately.

~ "...What kind of trouble is it gonna get us in?" The brunette asked with a serious voice, but then chuckled, letting Max know that she's down.

~ "Getting grounded for 'till college at most." Max joked, earning another laugh from the other.

~ "Tell meee-" El started insisting.

~ "Okay, okay, fineee." Max giggled, actually quite a bit excited about her little plan.

- - - - - - - - -------- - - - - - - - -

When Hopper walked into the cabin, the first thing he saw was El's door opening and the two girls coming out of it. He frowned a little and looked at his wrist watch.

~ "Oh, hey you two. Max, it's past eight now. You should probably be heading home soon." Hopper said, undoing his belt which for some reason alarmed Max and she froze on the spot for a second, a wave of heat and fear washing over her before she saw Hopper put it on the nearby counter and blinked a few times, her legs making their way towards the door, followed by El.

~ "Uhh...yeah. Sorry. I kinda lost track of time. I'll see you tomorrow, El?" She clarified, giving the girl a smile that anyone who doesn't know Max would see as nice. El knew Max was just confirming if she was still in on the plan though and gave her a little nod, hugging her goodbye.

~ "Yeah. Tomorrow." The brunette repeated, trying not to chuckle at the words while breaking the hug and watching Max leave.

~ "...You good, kid?" Hopper asked from the kitchen, watching his doughter wiho was subconsciously smiling from ear to ear. El realised it way too late though and looked at Hopper, scared that she'll ruin the plan before it even begun.

~ "Yeah...I'm okay. Good." She nodded without the smile now, slowly turning to try and disappear into her room again.

~ "Don't even think about leaving young lady." Hopper stopped her before she could reach the handle of her door, turning to her with an unreadable expression in his face.

~ "Uhm...why? I'm really tired today, Hop."

~ "What did I tell you about this? What do you have to say?" Hopper complained, holding an almost empty box of Eggos El ate and dinner she was supposed to have instead of them.

~ "But-...the peas are disgusting!" El crossed her arms over her chest.

~ "But they're healthy! You can't just live out of Eggos." Hopper retorted.

~ "Why not?" El asked, raising an eyebrow as if she were challenging him.

~ "You have no idea how unhealthy this is!" The father shook his head while El rolled her eyes a little.

~ "Well, unhealthy tastes good at least..." She murmured.

~ "I swear I will stop buying these if you don't start eating something else too." Hopper stated, letting the girl off the hook.

- - - - - - - - ------- - - - - - - - -

When Max got home, she plopped down on her bed with a giant grin on her face, looking at the clock on her bedside table. 9:38. She had some time and she hated it because she couldn't wait. She used the time to benefit her though. She stood up and went into the bathroom, starting to brush out her hair while looking at herself in the mirror. She was never  one to care about her looks, but now, she did for some reason...well, not for some reason. She knew exactly for what reason. And it made her stomach flutter. She couldn't believe El agreed to it. She thought that this would be just another of her fantasies that she'd share with El but will never happen. But somehow, it will. Her skin felt all tingly as she remembered what happened just a few hours ago...El wanting her to stay and falling asleep almost cuddled next to her. Max knew she probably didn't mean it like she did, but in her mind it still counted as a win. The warm feeling of El's arms around her was more than enough to make Max fall asleep without difficulties. The redhead craved that feeling now. She wondered what it would feel like to have the brunette even closer. Wrap her arms around her and never let her go. But those were again, just her fantasies.

Now, Max was sitting against the bed in her room, her eyes glued to the digital clock. The red lines were forming 0:29 and she just waited for the torture to stop and allow that last minute to end already. Finally, it did and Max silently opened her window with a flashlight in her hand, stepping out into the warm summer night.