MadMax

The Sleepover

"You girls need to actually sleep tonight, you both have school in the morning. El, Hopper is dropping off your things when he gets off." Robin says.

We nod and run into my room, already giggling. I love being with El, she makes me forget about everything and just makes me truly happy. We decide on watching a movie, Titanic, clearly picked out by El. I hate cheesy romantic movies but if El wants to watch it then I'll suffer through it. We get cozy in my bed and Robin carries in a plate of Eggo's.

"EGGO'S!!!" Eleven screams, snatching the plate from Robin. "I love your new mom Max."

Robin just laughs in response. I guess she sort of is my new mom for now. I shrug it off and we get back to the movie. We are only 20 minutes in and El is snoring softly beside me. I move over slowly and carefully get out of bed, cautious not to wake her. I slide on a pair of Robins old slippers and a jacket and slide open my window. There is a fire escape directly outside of my window that leads right to the roof. I ease my way out quietly and climb to the roof. It's peaceful up here with only the sound of crickets and frogs. I suppose there are some perks of living in a forgotten town, compared to busy California. I sit against an old metal box by the edge and breathe in the harsh cold air. The stars look like glitter in the night sky, I close my eyes and take it all in. Hawkins isn't all that bad when you forget about the monsters and such.

Ever since the whole thing with Sullivan and Vecna, it has been strangely quiet. I'm waiting for shit to hit the fan but it still hasn't. I'm always on edge though, expecting the worst.

I hear a noise coming from behind me and turn around slowly. I relax when I realize it is just El.

"What are you doing up here? It's c-c-c-cold." She says, her teeth chattering together.

"Come here." I say, patting next to me. She obeys and sits down, leaning into me for warmth.

I point up to the sky, "That there is the north star. The brightest of all, it sort of reminds me of you." I blurt.

She smiles and stares into the sky. She points up and says, "That one is you."

I follow her finger and look, "That's the moon." I reply, laughing.

She just looks at me with a confused look. I don't even bother explaining right now so I just agree with her.

"We should probably head back in before Robin notices." I say, getting up.

She nods, still noticeably shaking and I follow her in.

She jumps under the blankets and turns her movie back on.

I slip out of the bedroom and wander into the living room. Robin is on the couch watching some movie that I've never seen.

"Hey kiddo, we should probably talk." She says, making room for me to sit down.

I take a seat next to her and she pauses her movie.

"What happened at the mall today?" She asks with concern in her eyes.

I look away without answering.

"I believe I already know but I'd like to hear it from you first." She goes on.

"Why? Why do you care so much?" I shout accusingly.

"Because Max, I care about you and I don't want anything bad to happen." She replies, putting my hands in hers. "Look, I know you are going through a lot and I just need to be there for you. I understand your situation."

My eyes start to water and she wipes the tears. I reach into my jacket and pull out the bottle of pills, handing them to her.

"Have you taken any yet?" She asks, snatching the pills.

I shake my head, feeling more guilty than ever.

She pulls me into a hug. "It's okay." She whispers into my ear.

"Now get in there back to your sleepover." She smiles, trying to brighten the mood.

I return her smile and slouch back into the bedroom. Eleven is zonked out again and I climb into bed next to her. So exhausted from the day, I fall asleep.

"Wake up Maxxxx!" Eleven is shaking my shoulders wildly.

I shoot up from my sleep and look around.

"We have school." She says, all of a sudden calmly.

"Oh my god El, I thought something bad was happening." I slowly get out of bed and get dressed into a pair of my new clothes. Eleven is already dressed and ready to go. I throw on my new shoes and don't bother brushing my hair. I follow her out into the living room where Robin is scrambling around for her school bag.

"Where the hell is it?!" She shout whispers, turning the living room upside down.

I look over towards the door and pick her bag up.

"Is this what you're looking for?" I hold it up, snickering.

"Oh my god Max, I love you." She replies.

"Whatever." I say, throwing it her way.

"Steve is downstairs waiting on us, He's honked like a bazillion times. Robin continues, rushing out the door.

We grab our stuff and follow her downstairs and into Steve's car.

"Next time, i'm leaving you guys." He says, backing out of the apartment complex.

"Shut up." Robin responds. "And could you not hit EVERY pothole in town?!" I'm trying to put on mascara."

In response, Steve swerves wildly onto the other side of the road.

"STEVE!"

Me and El snicker in the backseat as they argue like an old married couple.

We are walking up to the entrance of the school just as the boys are parking their bikes.

"Hey guys!" El perks up.

They all groan a hello and follow us into school. They definitely aren't morning birds like El, I ain't either.

I retrieve my schedule from the office and look over my schedule. I've got Science with Dustin, Lucas and I have History, and I have English with Will and Eleven. All my other classes are with kids I don't know. I hardly even bother learning their names. The whole party has lunch together, so I guess it works out great. We all part ways to head into our first class of the day. For me, it's geometry. Who the hell puts a bunch of teenagers in geometry at 7 am?! I groan and drag myself into the classroom, taking a seat in the far back.

"Good morning class, my name is Mr. Cox." Kid's snicker and make comments from all over the room. "Yes, very funny. Anyways, we are going to have a great school year if you guys behave and mind your manners. And the first day is fine, but I don't want any more immaturity on my name from this point forward." Mr.Cox states firmly.

Ugh this is going to be a long class. I get comfy in my chair as Mr. Cox goes on about some math crap.