𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 | 𝑒𝑙𝑚𝑎𝑥

3) connection ༻

"what's weird about saying that?" max questioned, wondering why these three are making such a big deal out of nothing.
eddie replies, "it's not about what you said, it's about how you said it."
"how did i say it?"
"it was just quick!" steve says.
"it was pretty hasty." robin nods.
max asks, "what are you implying?"
"just- talk to me later. before you leave." robin says.
"great, can we move on from this topic now? because unfortunately, no one else knows what the hell you guys are talking about." nancy says, setting the argument.

*time skip*

after playing various middle-schooler-games like never have i ever and two truths and a lie, everyone started to get pretty bored. "okay, this is fun and all, but i'm gonna have to head out." steve announces, standing up. eddie follows him, along with robin, both saying their goodbyes. max assumes that they're probably all in the same car. "yep, think i'm gonna go too." max says, briefly waving goodbye to everyone.

as she's walking up the stairs, she remembers that robin wanted to talk to her. she runs the rest of the way out of the house, and yells "hey! robin!" she's getting in the car, but stops when she hears max. "oh hey!"
"didn't you want to talk to me?"
"yeah! one sec." she turns to steve and tells him to wait for her. "so, what's up?" max says as robin is walking over to her.
robin hesitates, "can i tell you something? a secret."
"yeah i guess?"
"god, how do i say this..i'm- i like girls."
there's a slight moment of silence between them.
"okay! that's fine. what does that have to do with me?"
"well, when you were talking about el, i kind of got a feeling."
"that i liked girls?"
"yyeah. yeah basically. it's okay if you don't! i don't want to assume, it's just i-"
"you aren't wrong. i do like girls, and guys. i'm not really sure what that's called but- yeah."
robin smiles, "oh! that's cool! i think that's called bisexuality, i've done some research on different things like that."
"yeah! okay. uhhh just don't tell anyone? please?"
"of course. i know how it is, max."
robin hugs her and they say goodbye.

while max is walking over to her skateboard, she can hear steve ask robin, "what was that all about?" "nothing! just drive, dingus." max smiles and waves at the car as they drive away.

eleven

"hey, mom?" joyce is bent over a suitcase, packing for a business trip. "oh hey sweetie. what's up?" she says with a slight smile. there's a nervousness in her voice, and el picks up on it. "is something..wrong?" "oh no no! nothings wrong. what did you need?"
"i have a question."
"yeah?"
"can i go back to hawkins? with mike? i want to see my friends."
"well, that's not a bad idea, i guess. where did this come from?"
"i miss...i miss max."
"aww, you girls have such an amazing bond. i wish i had a friend like that when i was your age."
eleven stands there for a moment, not sure what to say.
"okay!" joyce claps her hands together, "hawkins! so, when mike goes home? when is that again?"
"3 days."
joyce thinks for a moment, staring at the floor.
"umm, yeah! sure. i'll get the tickets sorted out before then, and you, will, and jonathan can all go back with him. you'll have somewhere to stay, right?"
"yeah!" el says with a huge smile on her face.
"alright then! looks like you're going back to hawkins for a bit."
eleven runs up to her and hugs her tightly for a moment, then pulls away and says "thank you!!"

when el tells the boys the news, they're all more than okay with it. for mike, he assumes this means he gets to spend more time with el. will is over the moon about the fact that he gets to see lucas, max, and dustin. jonathan, of course, is happy about getting to see nancy. eleven knows that she's the most excited about going back to hawkins. just thinking about seeing max again makes her all giddy. despite what mike thinks, el plans to spend the most time that she can with max.

sitting down at her desk, el needs to tell max the good news.

dear max,

hi! i have a surprise for you, i hope you will like it. i'm very excited. i'm coming back to hawkins! in three days. with mike, jonathan, and will. you can tell the others, if you want. i was wondering if you would be okay with me staying at your house? i don't know how long i'm staying, joyce didn't tell me. if not that's okay, i guess i can just stay at mike's. speaking of mike, i need to talk to you about him when i get there. well, goodbye! write me back when you can.

love, el ♡

:: a/n euphoria reference??