𝙴𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 ~ 𝙴𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚡

《𝟹𝟶》

August 27, 1985
0:40 AM

The night was quiet, just the sound of the chirping crickets was reminding Max that she's not alone in the woods she was currently walking through. She picked up her pace and aimed her flashlight in front of her to have a better look at what's there. The path she was walking on was suddely looking so unfamiliar in the night. She was surprised she even found a way towards the cabin where the two girls  were supposed to meet. Max's hands were shaking a little. She found it extremely exciting to be outside this late without her mother knowing. The fact that her crush agreed to meet up with her was helping too. She still couldn't believe it. In her opinion, this was so cool. She had already planned the things they could do and the places where they could go hours ago. It was so warm this night so she only wore shorts and a shirt to really enjoy it for once. She was a California girl afterall and thrived on heat. Once she moved the light up and saw a wooden cabin, she couldn't help but smile. This night felt special.

Across the path from the redhead, on the step of the porch was sitting El. She had no light because she wasn't able to find one inside the dark cabin without waking Hopper up. That was really the last thing she needed. The plan would be screwed that way. So she simply went out without it, sitting on the porch to wait for her best friend. She was excited. This jittery feeling kept making her stomach tingle like it did never before. And once she saw the light of the flashlight, she was sure of who it was.  She grinned and jumped onto her feet, trying to silently make her way towards it. When they said they were gonna meet again tomorrow, they didn't really lie. Just left out the exact time for their own good. When Max moved the light at El's face, the brunette remembered the time Mike found her the exact same way. It came to her like a flashback. The blinding light that changed everything for her. It didn't make El anxious or anything...this was happy. A good memory. It reminded her that she's finally safe. Max smiled at her and placed her index finger against her own lips with a smile, aware that Hopper might still hear them from the inside of the cabin if they started talking. The redhead gently took El's wrist and started leading her up the hill, away from the cabin. El happily followed her and once they were far enough, she let out a giggle. That made Max giggle too and the sound wasn't dying down until there was no air in their lungs anymore.

~ "This is awesome." El smiled, walking next to Max without actually knowing where they were going.

~ "Yeah. I love it too. Like... we said we'd meet today, right? Can't believe we really did this though." Max chuckled, seeming like she had an exact destination where she wanted to go.

~ "Me neither. So...where are we going?" Asked El curiously, blinking at Max a few times. That amused Max and one side of her lips quirked up into a smirk.

~ "You'll see."

~ "You're not gonna tell me?" El tilted her head.

~ "Nope. This is a surprise Ellie." Max kept looking forward, lighting up their path that wasn't really a path. They were just dodging trees. Even at night though, El knew they were going closer to it...her eyebrows scrunched in discontentment.

~ "Max...where are we going?" She asked after a while stopped the other girl by wrapping her palms around her forearm, looking more serious all of a sudden. The redhead's smirk fell when she saw El's face, even through the dark.

~ "What's wrong? I don't understand-"  Max asked, the next thing being El taking the flashlight out of her hand and aiming it at their right. Max's eyes followed the light until she saw a rusty, old wire fence that she knew, not further than 10 metres away from them. She understood now.

~ "Oh shit...I'm sorry, I didn't realize... come on. Let's go another way." Max was quick to act, feeling ashamed for putting El in a situation like this. She started walking away from the fence but when she turned around to see if El's following, she saw her standing still on the same spot, looking towards the fence. Almost as if she was trying to see past it.