Weirdo //Elmax //

Chapter 12

Max felt increasingly anxious as she made her way to Jane's house. It had been a week since their kiss, and they hadn't seen each other since.

Her history teacher had tasked her with delivering the missed assignments to Jane. Max had hesitated to accept. What if Jane was angry with her? It's true that the way she had stormed off wasn't very pleasant, but what else could she have done? Her two friends had caught her off guard by showing up like that, and it was the only reaction she could come up with in the moment.

Now, Max stood in front of the Hopper's house. She hesitated for a moment before knocking, feeling her stress levels rise.

She heard someone shout, "Coming!" and footsteps approaching. The door opened, revealing a tall, mustached man. He raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly surprised. Max cleared her throat before speaking, "I... I'm Max, a friend of Jane's. I need to give her the assignments she missed." The old man's face softened, and Max felt like she was looking at a big teddy bear. "Ah yes, Max. Jane has spoken a lot about you. Come in." He stepped aside to let the girl pass. As soon as she entered, a delightful smell of waffles greeted her, reminding her that it was Jane's favorite dish.

"Jane, sweetheart, your friend Max is here!" the man called out. Max froze at the realization that she was about to see the girl again after their last kiss. She heard footsteps rushing toward the living room and caught a glimpse of Jane's head. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were red.

The brunette stopped in her tracks at the entrance of the living room, seeing the redhead. Her heart skipped a beat. A silence fell over the house. The two girls stood frozen in place. Hopper, not realizing what was happening, patted the redhead's shoulder. "Well, I'll leave you girls to do your girl stuff. I'll go watch TV." He left the two teenagers alone in the living room.

Max gathered her courage and stammered, "I came to give you the missed assignments." Jane nodded, disappointed to see that the redhead hadn't come to talk things through. She motioned for her to follow. Max looked around; it was her first time at her friend's house, and she found it very welcoming. At the end of a hallway, Jane opened a door and let Max enter before following in and closing the door.

Jane's room was dimly lit, but the redhead could make out pictures of her with her father and friends. The brunette sat silently on her bed. Tension filled the room, and both of them struggled to breathe, let alone speak. Max took the notes out of her bag and placed them on Jane's wooden desk. "These are the assignments... There aren't many, you should be able to catch up easily." The redhead turned around and locked eyes with her friend. They stayed like that, one standing in the room and the other sitting on her bed, neither daring to speak.

"Are we going to pretend like nothing happened, or not?" Jane finally managed to utter a sentence. The redhead swallowed hard at this question. "I don't know, I..."

"Listen, Max," Jane interrupted, standing up abruptly, trying to appear confident, but her trembling voice gave her away. "I love you," she said. Max's eyes widened at those words, her heart pounding louder and louder. "I don't just love you as a friend. I'm in love with you. And I don't regret kissing you that night at all. But please, don't play with me. Just tell me if I have a chance with you or not."

The brunette's cheeks were on fire from making such revelations, and if it weren't for the adrenaline coursing through her, she would have collapsed on the floor from how much energy those words had taken out of her.

Max noticed the girl's stress as she saw her fidgeting with her hands throughout her confession. The redhead started to think about the words she needed to say to express everything she felt for this girl, but after a while, she gave up and approached the brunette.

Jane slightly widened her eyes at the girl's gesture and flinched when the redhead gently took her hands. "I love you," Max said, her head lowered out of fear of meeting Jane's gaze. She closed her eyes to gather courage, then opened them and lifted her head. "I have never loved someone as much as I love you, and our kiss was the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I have never felt like this, and the fact that it's for a girl complicates things a lot. I was scared when my friends showed up, but I don't want to let you down or play with your feelings. I want to be with you, Jane. I have wanted it for a long time."

The tension that was already present now hung heavy in the air, and both girls struggled to breathe. Their cheeks were as red as ever. The brunette flashed a slight smile, which reassured Max.

Jane took Max's face in her hands and drew her closer. Max allowed it, and all apprehension vanished when she felt Jane's soft lips against hers.

The urgency for their kiss had diminished. It was a slow and tender kiss. In that moment, nothing else existed but the two girls, and all their troubles faded away. Max wrapped her arms around the other girl's waist and pulled her closer, not wanting anything to come between them.

After the kiss, they pulled apart but remained very close to each other. Jane let out a relieved sigh and embraced the girl she loved, never wanting to let go. She wanted to stay like this for the rest of her life, and the redhead was completely on board with that idea.