I call Steve and wait for him to pick up the phone. I want to go on that road trip we were talking about. Max needs to get out soon. She's been going to her school counselor recently, but it's not helping much. I hear a buzz coming out from the phone and realize Steve didn't pick up.
I hang up the phone and walk over to Billy's house. I haven't talked to him since a couple days ago when I asked him to go to the movies. Of course that doesn't mean I haven't seen him. Almost every other night I get a call to pick him up from a party because he's too drunk to drive. As soon as I get him in the car he falls asleep and probably doesn't even remember how he got home, meaning he doesn't remember seeing me.
I walk in and see Billy sitting on the couch. I don't maintain eye contact and walk straight to Max's room. I see her sitting on her bed reading her Wonder Woman Comic. I grin and she looks up and smiles slightly.
"Hey," she says.
"Hey," I reply.
She grabs my hand and makes me sit down on her bed. She shuts the door and locks it.
"Uh, what's up?" I ask.
"You have to do something," she exhales like she's been holding her breath for hours.
"Do something about what?" I question.
"Billy," she whisper, making sure he doesn't hear.
"Max, I-" I start.
"No, it's getting bad. He's like always brainwashed. He's always so tired in the morning, barely able to do anything, and then partying at night, not being able to stay awake. I'm pretty sure he's going to die of like sleep deprivation or something," she explains.
"I hear you. I've noticed too, but I don't think I can do much. I think he would go to party anyway," I sigh.
"No, your word always means something to him," she objects.
"Have you ever tried giving him your word?" I ask.
She stays silent for a while and sighs.
"No," she says lowly.
"Maybe that's what he needs," I suggest. "Go to him and tell him how you feel."
"Y/N, let me ask you a question," she says passive-aggressively.
"Shoot," I say nervously.
"Since our brothers are so alike, have you ever tried giving your brother your word?" She questions.
"Yes," I say.
"And how did that go?" She asks.
She knows the answer and she wants to get it out of me so I sound dumb. I would've done the same. It's true when they say great minds think alike.
"Not great," I say lowly.
"Exactly," she says.
"Well, that was because family life wasn't great and he needed an escape," I excuse.
"Is that not the same situation me and Billy are in? I mean look around Neil and Billy barely talk to avoid fighting."
"Fair," I sigh.
She nods and I flop all the way down on her bed.
"Well, I haven't spoken to him in a while," I say.
"How long?" Max asks.
"Couple of days. Almost a week," I inform.
Max folds her arms and starts walking back and forth in her room. I sit up on my elbows and watch her.
"What's on your mind?" I ask.
"Wondering how we can trick him out of the house," she says.
"Okay, and what would we do after we lure him out?" I question.
"That's what I'm thinking about," she says.
I can tell she's deep into her thoughts and I wait patiently to see what she will say.
"How about we take him to the arcade? We had fun last time we all went," she says.
Her idea struck and even better one in my head. He might be pissed but it will be totally worth it.
"I got it," I grin.
"What?" She asks, a grin showing on her face too.
"What if we bubble wrap his car so he can't go anywhere. Then, take him in my car and spend a whole day going to places. I'm talking the arcade, on the lake, hell we could even go out of state. A day full of fun," I say.
"Genius," she smiles.
"I know," I say, feeling triumphant.
"Okay, now we decide when," Max says.
"Tomorrow," I grin.
"Tomorrow?" She repeats.
"Tomorrow. I mean why not? Tomorrow is Friday! Who cares if we miss a day of school. I mean, Billy skips anyways. You gotta skip once in your life. Also, it's for a good cause, so why not?"
She's silent for a while and a smile slowly creeps up on her face.
"Let's do it."
We run out of her room and Billy looks at us with concern and we yank his front door open and sprint out. Max gets in the passenger seat of my car and I run inside to get the keys. I take them off of the hook and Mason frowns.
"Hey! Where are you going with my car dipshit?" He yells.
"It's not your car asshat! Until you can convince mom to get me a car for myself, that car is mine bitch," I snap back.
He gets up and starts running toward me to get the key out of my hand. I laugh and run out of the house. It reminds me of when we were younger and I would steal his things and we'd yell cuss words at each other while I'm running from him. My mom would throw her sandal at us because of the language we were using. It was like a war zone.
I get in the drivers seat and lock the doors. Max is laughing and I turn on the car. Mason is smiling while banging on the window. I flip him off and start blasting Live Wire by Mötley Crüe. I pull out of the driveway and drive off to the store.
___
Max and I run through the store with the shopping cart, grabbing things we really don't need.
Our cart is full by the time we reach the bubble wrap. Max grabs bunches of boxes with bubble wrap and we walk to the checkout lady.
She looks at our cart with wide eyes and sighs. She scans our things while looking up at us every once and a while, seeing the most ridiculous things.
Max and I got water guns, food, magazines, an unhealthy amount of candy, a blowup pool, and much more. Tomorrow is going to be a very action packed day.
___
We rush back to the car laughing and I realize that today and tomorrow is going to make Max smile. A smile I haven't seen in a long time.
We load everything in the car and we laugh as I start up the car again.
"Any music requests?" I ask.
"I, uh, actually brought my music," she says.
"Oh, sweet! What song?" I ask.
She take out her cassette tape and pops it in.
"The song is called Running up That Hill by Kate Bush," she informs.
"Cool," I smile.
We pull out of the parking lot and laugh lots on our way home.
_________________
Hey guys! Please excuse any typos that I made I wrote this on my phone and don't have any time to proofread! Remember to take care of yourself! Love ya! -C
YOU ARE READING
Radical | A stranger things story
Fantasy*Starts in season 2* "That was pretty Radical and you know it." Billy Hargrove
