Isn't It Strange? (Max and Eleven AU | Elmax)

Our New Paladin

| Max's POV|

Everyone had managed to write down two names fairly quickly with no hassle. Dustin had shuffled the papers around, not that it'd make any difference but he still seemed to imagine it was crucial to this plebiscite. Will had grabbed the whiteboard marker and wrote the names of the party members on the board. 

Max/ Zoomer:

Dustin/ Bard:

Eleven/Mage:

Wil/Cleric:

Lucas/Ranger:

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, the results are now in, first vote is. Will the Wise" we all gave a round of applause and Will smiled writing a mark next to his name. Dustin had cleared his throat again, "Now I will read all the names out and we will see at the end who received most votes." He nodded choosing a paper from the bottom. "El...Dustin...Max with a heart" I looked over at El and she smiled widely, but still looking straight forward, completely oblivious that I had seen her out herself right then and there, it almost made me feel giddy. "Lucas...MadMax...Will...Eleven, with a big smiley face next to it... Dustin...." I had looked over to the board and to my surprise I was tied up against almost everyone. "And our final paper that could possibly tell us the result of our next Paladin is," Dustin said as he picked up the final remaining piece of paper. I was ready to congratulate the winner when suddenly, "Max" Dustin exclaimed with a smile on his face, my eyes had widened, there is no way in hell. I stood up and smiled  looking over at the finally tallied result on the board. 

Max/ Zoomer: |||

Dustin/ Bard: || 

Eleven/Mage: ||

Wil/Cleric: ||

Lucas/Ranger: | 

"Thank you all, so much" I then furrowed my eyebrows - a complete look of confusion plastered my face. "But why?" I asked. 

Suddenly there was a roar of different comments, 'because you're the best at DIGDUG, that's high level of skills', 'because you nearly chopped your brothers d#ck off!' I heard someone else exclaim, 'you're totally tubular' I laughed at the impression from one of the boys. "because you deserve it," I heard El say with her quite toned voice as the sound and rattle from the rest of the party died down. "All of us had at least been rude to you one time" she said as everyone had there eyes on her, softly nodding along to what she had admitted to. "I never gave you the time of day Max, and I am so sorry for that" she muttered with an embarrassed look on her face, pulling her face down to look at her shoes, avoid eye contact. I didn't like the idea of her feeling embarrassed or guilty. I tip toed over to her and softly lifted her head up with my finger. "Apology accepted" I said with an empathetic smile, "besides, I did the same to you for awhile" I laughed aloud. I widened my eyes as I realized my hand was still under her chin, I quickly shot it back down to my side, hopping no one had noticed. I just grinned to myself, her skin was so soft. Not that, that was a surprise, it always looked soft. I turned back and stood next to the board. 

"As new Paladin I am afraid I don't have a snazzy basement like Mike did. Therefore I am recruiting Eleven to be our party campaign host and meeting supervisor." I said looking over to the curly headed girl with soft eyes. There was a soft round of applause and soon after El raised her hand. "W-What's everything you just said?" she asked with a sheepish smile. I shook my head laughing. "It means you decided when we have meetings, and if we do, they're at the cabin." I said, dialing down the vocabulary to standard english. 

After awhile, one by one the boys had to go home. Leaving El and I behind, listening to the Clash. Will had donated a few tapes to the AV Room since he insists that it won't make a difference because he's got a lot more at home. El was softly bobbing her head to the rhythm and I couldn't help but grin. "Dance with me" I suddenly said, out of the blue. She furrowed her eyebrows, "what?" I couldn't help but to laugh at her confusion. "Come on" I smiled, carefully pulling her by the hand to an open area in the room. We were dancing to 'Lost in the supermarket' and I guided her to the beat, her arms snaked around my neck and my heart began to race. I think my mind was playing tricks on me because it looked like she was leaning in. I didn't want to assume that's what she was doing so I had no other option but to spin her out words. Her eyes widened from unexpected shock. "Sorry" I giggled, causing her to smile softly. 

Once the song finished we packed up and walked out to the parking lot. El waiting for Hopper and of course I had to wait for Billy. Lucky for me, my parents were coming home this weekend with a new board for me so no more carpooling for me. "Today was fun" I said, breaking the awkward silence, I wasn't even sure where the awkward silence came from. I looked to the side and saw El shrug. "Must be good" she said pausing a little but not taking too long to continue, "You're pal-paladin now" she beamed, I chuckled softly while shaking my head and looking down at my toes. "Yeah" I awkwardly said. "Listen, El I'm really glad we're getting closer" I spewed out these words so fast that my mind didn't even have time to process it. I wanted to apologize but before I did Eleven spoke out "Me too Max, you're nice, really nice" it almost seemed as if she fluttered her eyes but I shook the thought off and gave her a big hug. "Thanks for talking to me, thanks for not giving up on me, thank you for-" we were both startled by the loud honk of Billy's car. Oh no, wait until I hear the end of this. I smiled at El giving her a small wave goodbye. 

The first half of the ride was quiet apart from the music on the radio. It was quiet, too quiet. And as if on cue Billy spoke, oh how I wish he didn't "A faggot for a sister huh?" his rhetorical question stung more than it should've. "I'm not a fa-, I'm not what you  think I am Billy." I nearly said the word but it disgusted me. It disgusted me how people had words that'd bring others down. "Oh yeah? Then say it Max, say the word if you're not it" he pushed, the pressure in the small spaced interior car was clearly evident and dense. I sighed loudly. "A fāggot" I mumbled under my breath. "I'm sorry what was that?" he asked, whilst cupping his ear. "A f-fāggot" I said a little louder but still not loud enough. "A-A what? What was that Max, you'll have to be louder than tha-" my blood boiled as he teased with his sentence. "A Fucking fāggot!, I'm not- I don't like her." I lied with every last word. I liked her, I really, really liked Eleven and with each day it became a lot more clear to me. I started to feel sick after hearing Billy's sly laugh, "yeah, whatever makes you sleep at night Maxine" he muttered, eyes back on the road. I rolled down the window for some fresh air. Just when I thought nothing terrible would happen today. 

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|Author's Notes|

I hate Billy, Billy is a bitch.. 

Hi, Hope that was an alrighty chapter/part. A more fluff filled part will come before Christmas I promise! <3 

Hope you're having a good day x 

-Gemma