Trust -|- An Elmax Story

VIII

Eleven

I woke up in a strange warmth. I open my eyes and see Max in front of me. I tried to get up, but Max's arms were holding me down. Instead, I decided to cuddle up next to Max until she woke up.

About fifteen minutes later, I felt Max get up. She sat crisscrossed on the bed, still holding onto me. I look up at her face.

"Good morning," I say.

"Morning," she says, looking down at me. I turn around to face her. Our faces are inches apart. My hand moves up her leg to her thigh. Her face goes redder than a tomato.

"We're going to Mike's house today!" I exclaim, remembering that we agreed to go. Max's face fell into a frown.

"Right," she groans. I move slightly, causing Max to let go of me.

I get up from the bed and pick up my purple brush. I start brushing through my knotted hair.

"I'm gonna get going home," Max states.

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit," I say, sad that she's going so soon.

"Goodbye," Max says, walking out of my room. For some reason, I'm already sad she's gone. I feel more attached to her than I am to Mike. Maybe you're supposed to feel that way with female friends.

I take a shower and get ready for the day. I make sure to look nice since the whole Party will be there today. When I walk out of the bathroom, I go straight to the kitchen. I notice Will sitting at the table eating in silence.

"Hey, Will!" I say, sitting down.

"Hi," he says in a mellow tone.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing," he responds.

"Are you excited to go over and hang out with the whole Party again? It's been forever since we've done that."

"I am. I've missed Dustin and Lucas."

"I'm glad."

"What about you? You haven't hung out with Mike in a while."

"I'm so excited! I can't wait! I love Mike so much!"

"Good," Will says sadly.

"Hey Will?" I ask.

"Yeah?" He asks.

"You never told me who your crush is."

"Oh. I still don't want to yet. Sorry."

"It's fine."

I get up and put Eggos in the toaster. I stand next to the counter, waiting for the Eggos to pop up. Will gets up and walks past me toward his room.

"I'm going to take a shower!" He shouts.

"Okay!" I shout back.

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After Will and I get ready, we head outside to his bike. I get onto the back, while he's at the front cycling. We arrive at Mike's house at the same time as Dustin.

"Hey, Dustin!" Will says with a smile.

"Hey, man!" Dustin says, going in for a hug. They hug for a few seconds.

"Hi, Dustin!" I say, waving at him.

"Hey!" Dustin says, hugging me next.

Will knocks on the door. Mrs. Wheeler answers.

"Mike, you're friends are here!" She shouts and moves out of the way so we can get in.

We walk in single file. I give Mrs. Wheeler a high-five. After all, she was supposed to be my mom according to Mike. We make our way downstairs. I get to the bottom of the stairs and look up to see Mike. This time felt different, though. I didn't feel as happy to see him. I walk up to him and give him a hug.

"Hey, El! I've missed you!" Mike says, pulling away from the hug.

"Hi! I've missed you too," I respond. I look to my right to see Max sitting on the couch. She smiles at me and gets up. I run over to her and tackle her back onto the couch. My stomach was warm and fuzzy. I'm still not sure if I'm supposed to feel this way with her, but I ignore it again.

"I've missed you, too," Max says, laughing. I let go of her to let her sit up. She sits at the end of the couch, and I sit in the middle. Max lies her head on my shoulder. I look around. Will is awkwardly standing, talking to Mike. Lucas and Dustin are sitting at the DnD table, talking and catching up with each other. I look down at my hand. I try to reach over and hold Max's hand, but I stop midway through. I feel like this would be betraying Mike. I look back up at Mike, and we make eye contact. I give him a smile. Suddenly, I feel something cold in my hand. I look down to see mine and Max's hands linked.

Will walks over to the couch and sits on the other side of the couch.

"Hi, Will!" I greet him.

"Hey!" He says, smiling at me.

"What do you guys want to do?" Mike asks loudly so everyone can hear.

"Lucas and I were thinking we should go out into the woods and explore," Dustin suggests.

"It'll be fun," Lucas adds.

"Maybe we could have Steve and Robin with us, too," Dustin suggests again.

"What do you think, El?" Mike asks me. I look over at my brother. He shrugs, not caring what we do.

"Okay, but I'm gonna go to the bathroom first," I say.

"You two good with that?" Mike asks Will and Max. Will nods.

"Sure, it's whatever," Max says.

I get up and head to the bathroom. I close the door and listen. At first, there's silence.

"Want to play Truth or Dare while we wait?" I hear Will ask. Everyone agrees and Will starts.

"Mike, Truth or Dare?" Will asks.

"Truth," he says.

"Do you like someone other than El?" Will asks.

"Maybe. Still deciding if I actually have feelings for someone else."

There's silence until Mike asks Max truth or dare.

"Truth," I hear Max say.

"Do you like El?" Mike asks.

"Yeah. I really love her," Max says, confidently.

"That's bullshit!" Mike yells.

"It's not bullshit, Mike!" Max argues.

I'm shocked. I have no clue what to do. I sit down with so many thoughts.