Caught Up (Steve Harrington- Stranger Things)

Part 22

I apologized to Max for having to walk to the nearest restaurant. She didn't mind though. 

We were seated in a booth in a warm, cozy diner. She, happily, sipped her hot chocolate. I gave her a friendly smile.

"So have you lived here long?" I asked. 

She nodded, no. "We just moved here. My mom married Billy's dad."

"Oh, so he's your stepbrother." I understood.

"Yeah, but don't ever say that around him. He doesn't classify me as a sister. We aren't family." She said in a serious tone. 

I nodded in agreement. "He's not the nicest guy, is he?" 

She raised her eyebrows. "Not at all."

The waitress placed our food on the table and I thanked her. Max had a stack of pancakes, which she ended up drowning in syrup, and I had some scrambled eggs with toast. 

We bonded over small talk for a while. She opened up to me about some friends she made that Billy doesn't approve of. I related to her when she expressed how she was the new girl in school. 

"Why are you hanging out with a 13 year old?" She questioned.

I pondered for a moment, thinking of the right answer. "We both need someone to have girl-talk with." I smiled. 

She looked at me and smiled back.