Lady in Red [Max Mayfield]

[4]

a/n: before i start this chapter i just want to say that in this story, when hopper died, will and his family did not move out of hawkins, and el lives with them. i thought i would tell you because otherwise it could be confusing.
also i'm so sorry that this chapter took so long. i had a writers block, and i went on a trip. so sorry again!

••••••••••••••

When school finally ends, I walk out of my class, and outside to grab my bike. Of course, Mike and his friends are standing at the bike rack. I think about just leaving my bike at school and walking home, but my dad would probably get mad at me. I walk over to the rack, trying to grab my bike as fast and quiet as possible, but Mike turns around.

"Oh hey Alex. ready to see Hawkins?" he asks in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah. so excited" I say, returning the sarcasm.

"Is it okay if Will comes with us?" Mike asks.

I glance at Will and he gives me a nervous smile before I say "Yeah. that sounds fun"

I can see Will sigh in relief. I assume he has bad anxiety. He's probably an over thinker.

"Hey, uh if you're just inviting people, how about I come with?" Max asks, with a slight grin.

Mike nods "Yeah. that's fine with me. Alex?" he says, glancing at me. I nod quickly and give Max a little smile. She returns it with a, a wink? No she didn't wink at me. I'm just making things up. why am I even making things up? I don't like her. I like boys. even though her lips are pretty. It'd be nice to touch her lips. Maybe even kiss the- stop. I like boys.

"Alex?" Mike says, snapping me out of my thoughts, "You good?" I nod and force a smile, "Okay good. cmon' guys, let's get going. We don't have all night."

I check my watch for the time to see it's 4:15. "Shit guys. We need to find a phone. I gotta let my dad know what we're doing" I announce.

"Okay, yeah that's fine. There's plenty of phones around town" Mike replies.

We all grab our bikes and start heading towards what I think is downtown. We pass by many roads that lead to subdivisions, until we eventually come to a stop at a building that read "Melvids General Store"

Mike looks at me and blurts out "Uh Will's mom works here. Can we stop for a sec? We have to check in with her" I nod. I find it a little weird that Will still has to check in with his mom at fifteen years old. Still, I don't think it'd be right to protest.

I follow Mike and his friends into the store. There are only a few people in there when we walk in, and Will guides us to the cash register. Behind it stands a woman with crazy brown hair wearing an orange t-shirt and jeans. She smiles as will walks up to her and pulls him into a hug. "Hey will. How was your day?" she asks 

"It was fine. Kinda boring" Will says.

Will's mom directs her gaze to me and smiles "And who might you be?" she asks

I plaster a smile on my face and say "Hi, my name is Alex. I just moved here from Derry. It's in Maine"

"Oh well nice to meet you. I'm Joyce, Will's mom. If you need anything, I'm happy to help." Joyce says with a smile.

I nod as Will continues his conversation with his mom. I look over to my right to see Max standing against a shelf, picking at her nails. The sunlight hits her face and accentuates her freckles. They spread across her face like wildfire. Her hair hits her back as she turns her head to look at me.

"Alex?" I hear Mike say. I snap out of my trance, feeling a bit flustered. Max smiles a little. "Alex, did you hear me? Do you need to call your dad to let him know we're here?"

"Oh, right yeah" I reply. Joyce directs me towards the back of the store where a dial phone sits. I punch in the numbers to my dads office, which he made me memorize as soon as he got the job, and the phone begins to ring.

"Hawkins Hardware, this is Steve speaking, how may I help you?" a voice says at the other end of the line.

That's odd. I thought my dad worked as the cashier from four to five. "Yeah, uh hi. I'm looking for a James Kinney?" I reply.

"James? He left for lunch hours ago. Haven't seen him since. Said something about picking up his daughter?" Steve answers with a shaky tone.

Of course my dad would do this. He's a lying drunk. He doesn't like to admit it, but he's an alcoholic. "Alright. No problem. Thanks anyways" I say quickly before hanging up. I try to change my enraged mood before walking back to the front of the store. Will and Mike don't notice, but Max looks at my with a concerned look.

"You okay?" she mouths. I nod and look away before she could try and say anything else. I wasn't ready to tell anyone about my dad just yet. Mike didn't even know about it.

"Let's get going" Mike announces. We all nod and follow him out of the door. The group continues the tour of the town, which doesn't take long. There's not much to see. When Mike is finished showing me around town, it's only 4:45.

"Okay guys. I better get home. I couldn't get ahold of my dad at work, and I don't want him to worry." I say, anxiously.

"Uh yeah. That's fine. Will and I have to get going anyways." Mike says as he starts to turn his bike down another street. Will follows him and gives me a little wave, which I return. Max and I continue on the same road for a bit, not talking.

"So, where do you live?" I finally get the courage to spit out.

"Old Cherry Road" Max replies quickly. My eyes widen a bit. That's where I live. Max and I live on the same road. We live close to each other. What are the odds?

"Me too." I say. Max looks over at me with a questioning look, but then looks back on the road and skates a little faster. I pedal harder to catch up to her, and she turns quickly down our road. She stops at a house with a screen porch.

"Is this your house?" I ask, stupidly. Of course it's her house. Why would you ask something so stupid, Alex?

"No, I just like standing in the yards of random people." Max says with a laugh. I laugh a little too, trying not to make it awkward. "So uh, where's your house?"

I point towards my house, which is only two away from hers. She nods. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow" I say.

"Yeah, I guess." Max says. I start to get on my bike when Max turns around and walks back over to me. She puts her hand on top of mine and I look up into her beautiful eyes. "Hey, uh I just wanna say sorry for being kinda rude today. I don't do well with new people, but you seem cool. Maybe we could like hang out one day. Like a sleepover? I don't know. Only if you want" Was max really asking me to hang out?

I smile and say "Yeah. I'd like that." She smiles back and walks into her house. I start peddling back to my house. Today was a good day. I like Max. As a friend of course. As I walk into the house I smile to myself. Maybe this place is okay. I hear a noise coming from the living room. Glass shattering. Lots of glass.