eleven

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King of my Heart

Chapter Eleven: Aaren Becomes an Arsonist

"My mood's dictated by our conversations."

-21 Questions, Waterparks

Aaren doesn't hate many things, but he hates working out, and building whatever the hell Steve is building is a horrible workout

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Aaren doesn't hate many things, but he hates working out, and building whatever the hell Steve is building is a horrible workout. So when Steve had his back turned, Aaren made sure to sneak away. While Dustin was helping Steve, Aaren sat down, pulled out his water bottle, and took some time to breathe and look up at the sky. He let the sun kiss his face while he thought about his family, friends, and the world. He had no idea how long he had been sitting like that, but he felt someone sit next to him and place their head on his shoulder.

"Hey Max, how are you?" Aaren asked her as he plopped his head on top of hers.

"Good, but the ride here sucked. Lucas's bike was not comfortable." Max grumbled out. Aaren laughed at her and stood up, reaching down to pick her up.

"Let's go, grumpy, we gotta help Steve build his... you know I don't know what we are building, but we need to help." Max nodded and then tapped Aaren's arm twice, their signal that one of them wanted physical affection, so Aaren slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. Ready to protect her from whatever they'll be facing today, Aaren missed Caleb, so he was so glad he had Max and Lucas with him.

Aaren looked around for Lucas and found him crouched behind a car, arguing with Dustin. But they were whispering to each other, so he couldn't tell what they were fighting about. So he looked down at Max and told her to help out Steve, and that he would be over there soon, she nodded and walked off.

"Guys, I can sense the tension from here. What's wrong?" Lucas and Dustin stopped whispering and looked up at Aaren with wide eyes. Aaren just shifted his weight and gestured for them to continue. Lucas sighed and shook his head, not wanting to fight with Dustin anymore. But Dustin said, "Lucas brought Max here even though it's dangerous! We're luring a Demogorgon here! Why would you do that?"

"She wanted to come, and it's not my place or yours to tell her otherwise. She's here to help." With that, Lucas stood up and went to stand next to Aaren, wanting to be close to him because he reminded him of Caleb. Of course, being with Max helps too. Dustin didn't know what to say.

"Bubba, I know you care about her and want to keep her safe. But you can't make decisions for her." Dustin just nodded and stood up, he was about to say something else, but Steve yelled over to the trio,

"Hey! Dickheads! How come the only one helping me out is this random girl? We lose light in 40 minutes. Let's go. Let's go, I said!"

"All right, asshole! God!" Dustin snapped back at the older boy, and the trio started walking over.

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