talk too much | max mayfield

35. hi

HI

✧･ﾟ: * Lucas leads the group into a patch in the woods where Jason stops and pops the trunk. The five peer down at the various types of ropes, flashlights, and weapons stashed in Jason's car, each grabbing something before moving to an empty spot in the ground.

"So," Jason starts clearing away leaves with his foot. "If Sinclair is right, the freak is hiding here-" he makes an "x" in the dirt. "We move through the woods here together-" a line a bit to the left of the x. "Then, Patrick and Andy, you split up, go around this way-" a curvy line. "Me and Sinclair," he uses his stick to point at Lucas, "we keep going-" three more lines. "Then we flank his ass from all sides. That freak won't know what hit him."

"What do I do?" Nora stands with her arms crossed, having taken Lucas' letterman jacket awhile ago as she became hyper-aware of how dirty her cheer uniform was getting.

Andy stifles a laugh that Nora returns with a glare.

"No offense, princess, but this really isn't a job for you," Jason tries explaining while also holding back and amused tone.

"Because I'm a girl?"

"Well. . . yeah. I mean-"

"What he means-" Lucas interrupts before Jason digs himself into a deeper hole. "Is we know how much that cheer uniform means to you. . . and it would suck. . . if it, like- got ruined. . . or something," he falters as he notices the look Nora gives him.

"Fine," she says in a tone that implies it is not fine at all.

She then goes to sit in the car while the guys venture into the woods.

After a long long long long long long long fifteen minutes, Lucas finally comes awkwardly jogging back, and Nora immediately leaves the car so the two can head over to the school as fast as possible.

—

✧･ﾟ: * An hour later, they finally made it.

It would've been only 30 minutes, 45 maximum if Lucas had let them stop by his house to grab some bikes but "it [was] too far, Nora! We're on a tight schedule right now, jeez!"

They're sprinting through the halls now too, trying to follow the sound of footsteps. Finally turning a corner, Nora suddenly feels blinded by a light and somehow makes out Lucas using his hands a shield from someone carrying a. . . lamp?

Multiple voices scream, causing Nora too as well, when she finally gets a hold of herself and makes out-

"Steve?"

"Nora?"

"Lucas?"

"Nancy?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Can only be Dustin speaking.

"I'm sorry," Lucas pants, putting his hands behind his head to catch his breath while Nora just stares, barely breaking out in a sweat.

"I could've hit you with this lamp!" Steve shakes it aggressively before tossing it to the side and suffocating Nora in a bear hug.

"Jesus Christ," she immediately tries pushing him off. "I'm fine."

"Oh, God," Lucas wheezes. "Just. . . ran- five miles. . . oh man."

Everyone stares unamused.

"We have a code red," Nora mumbles from Steve's jacket sleeve to say what Lucas is taking ten years to.

"What?" Steve finally releases and she immediately goes to Dustin and puts her hands on his shoulders.

"We were with the stupid basketball dudes, and, like, I thought they were crazy before, but they've totally gone off the rails," she shakes him with every word. "They're trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is-"

"You're in terrible danger," Lucas gasps out.

"Alright. Yeah. That definitely sucks."

"Yeah."

"But we've got bigger problems than Jason now," Dustin turns his head to look at Max behind him - someone who's presence Nora realizes immediately but is trying to avoid so she doesn't make things worse than they already are - but the look in Max's eyes makes her forget whatever stupid shit she's said before and only want to comfort her.

—

✧･ﾟ: * Nora sits beside Max as she hunches over piles of paper, reading an old archived newspaper article that Nancy and Robin found when looking for information on some dude named Victor Creel who isn't actually a serial killer he just got framed for something a demon called the "Vecna" (more Dungeons and Dragons terms) actually did.

Lucas, Dustin, and Steve sit at the other side of Mike and Nancy's basement on the couch talking about dinosaurs and stuff.

"This is a lot, huh?" Nora tries talking to Max, but the redhead doesn't look up from her papers. "Max can we please talk?"

If you're going to die within 24 hours I really don't want our last conversation to have been a fight.

"About what, Nora?" Max looks up from her writing to stare heatedly at Nora.

"I miss you called me Nor," is all she can think of saying in the moment. "You only call me Nora when you're mad at me."

"Well, maybe I am mad at you. Ever thought of that?"

"Look, Max, I'm sorry-"

"Stop apologizing," she's writing again.

"Sor-" but Nora isn't sure what else there is to say.

She stays seated beside Max even when Nancy and Robin come back downstairs and explain their plan on going to Pennhurst, just trying to keep Max company, rummaging through the various belongings on the desk in Mike's basement.

"This is for you," Max gives her a red envelope after a moment.

Nora moves to open it when Max puts her hands over Nora's suddenly.

"No! No, don't open it now," she keeps her hands in the same position frantically.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Nora tries not making any sudden movements in case Max removes her hands. "Um. . . what is this?" She tries saying around the insane amount of butterflies in her stomach right now.

"Um," Nora stays relieved as Max looks down at their hands but still makes no effort to move them. "It's. . . it's a fail-safe," she tries to find the right words. "For. . . if things don't. . . work out. . ."

"Woah, Max," Nora takes a risk and quickly grabs Max's hands that were once covering hers, dropping the envelope in her lap. "Things are going to work out."

Her hands warm with the body heat from Max's, and she looks deep into her shocking blue eyes as if that'll magically make her more optimistic. Have her eyes always been this blue?

"Nor. . .a," Max falters. "I don't need you to reassure me right now. . . I have spent my entire life with people telling me things are going to work out and it's almost never true- I mean, of course this asshole curses me, should've seen that one coming."

Max then pulls away from Nora to give similar looking envelopes to Lucas, Steve, and Dustin who are sitting at the other side of the basement, leaving Nora's hands cold.

a/n:
i just saw a tiktok saying the roller skating incident was on the same day as will's birthday? crying! but also crying bc norax (im ngl we never decided on a ship name) still aren't in love :'( i wonder who's fault that is...