I'm your comfort cant you see

Hidden truths

It was another dreary afternoon in Hawkins, Indiana, and Maxine "Max" Mayfield was feeling the weight of her thoughts once again. She was a master at hiding her true feelings from the world, but lately, it had become harder and harder to keep up the facade. Her mind kept drifting back to the memory of her abusive stepfather, to the hurtful words that were still ringing in her ears. And despite her best efforts, she just couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, there was something wrong with her.

She was in the middle of mulling over her problems when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in," she called out, hoping it was someone who could distract her from her gloominess.

To her surprise, it was Eleven - or El, as she preferred to be called these days - who walked through the door. The two of them had been spending more and more time together lately, bonding over their shared love of skateboarding and arcade games. But even though they had become good friends, there was still something about El that made Max feel a little bit uneasy. Maybe it was the fact that she still didn't know much about El's past, or maybe it was the way she always seemed to be holding something back.

"Hey, Max," El said, smiling warmly at her. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out for a bit?"

Max grinned, happy to have some company. "Sure, let's hit the arcade."

As they made their way down the street, Max felt herself relaxing a little bit. With El by her side, she didn't feel so alone anymore. But as they played game after game, Max began to notice something odd about her friend. El was acting jittery and nervous, like she was trying to hide something from Max.

"What's going on, El?" Max asked, feeling a flutter of worry in her chest. "Is something wrong?"

El hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting around the arcade. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "There's something I need to tell you, Max. Something I've been keeping from you."

Max's heart sank. Was El going to say that she didn't want to be friends anymore? Or worse, that she had been using Max all along?

But as El spoke, Max realized that her fears were unfounded. "I know I haven't been completely honest with you," El said, her voice shaking slightly. "But it's because...because I've been scared."

"Scared of what?" Max asked, feeling a pang of sympathy for her friend.

"Scared of losing you," El said, her eyes filling with tears. "You're the first real friend I've ever had, Max. And I don't want to mess it up."

Max felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had been so worried that El was going to reject her that she hadn't even considered the fact that El might be just as nervous as she was. "Hey," she said, reaching out to give El's hand a reassuring squeeze. "You don't have to be scared. I'm not going anywhere."

El sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just...it's hard for me to trust people. After everything that's happened to me."

Max nodded in understanding. She knew that El's past was filled with trauma and pain, and she didn't want to make things worse by prying. "I get it," she said