5 Lies and a truth | Madwheeler

The Truth.

An eighteen year old Max Mayfield, stood in front of her mirror. It was the night of her senior prom, her last event at Hawkins High. She sighed picking her hairbrush and running it through her curls. She had no date. The party however, agreed graciously to go together as friends but she knew the minute they arrived they would split up to find their own significant others. Lucas was luckier than her in that department, he had found a sweet girl named Rachel, a friend from his nerdy extracurriculars. Will had similarly found a boy called Chase and Dustin is adamant that he has a date they just haven't mysteriously seen her yet. Mike would also most likely pair off with El. Mike and El were 'over' agreeing that they both needed to work some things out before they started dating, but that doesn't mean they couldn't go to this dance as an item one last time. Leaving Max all on her own with no date.

A throat cleared in the hallway and Max turned to see her mother and stepfather. "Neil! Doesn't she look beautiful?" her mother gasped. Her stepfather grumbled something in response before walking away. Just a few more weeks and then I'm off to college and out of here, Max reminded herself. Her mother awkwardly shifted at the door while Max's younger half sister appeared. "Here you go!" she squealed her tiny hands placing a corsage in Max's palm. "Thanks Bea but I'm pretty sure my date is supposed to give me this" Max said flatly, pushing it back in her sister's hand. Beatrice frowned. "But you don't have one!" she said innocently. Max gritted her teeth, her cheeks warming in embarrassment. "Never mind sweetie" her mother chipped in, saving her. "You'll find someone, it just takes a little searching." Max glared at her. "Or in your case you can find someone twice!" Max said hotly. Her mother's face dropped slightly and Max felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry" she mumbled softly. "It's okay" her mother whispered, before embracing Max in a hug. Max wrapped her arms around her tightly, forcing back the tears. She was already stressed.

The drive to the school was hell. Max was stuck behind the wheel of Mrs Byers' minivan. Dustin was at her side screaming about his hair and how Max speeding would ruin it, Lucas was in the back, protecting his corsage for Rachel with his life, making sure Will and El don't sit on it by accident. That hurt. Max glanced down at her own wrist on the wheel, which was sadly bare. Mike was quiet, she noted, he was probably still moping over his muddled relationship status with El. He had however, warmed up to her over the last 2 years. They had connected at Dustin's birthday but things weren't totally tubular between them, as Lucas would put it. The mean comments and grudge matches had stopped but they had been reduced to small talk, usually about school or their friends. Perhaps she was destined to only have brief moments with Michael Wheeler.

"I'm gonna go find parking" Max announced, dropping the gang at the door. "You sure you don't want one of us to stay and wait?" Dustin asked. Max rolled her eyes "I'll be fine" she reassured them. Max found parking on a side street, since the parking lot wasn't designed for minivans. Typical. She breathed out, trying to release the tension that was currently bubbling in her stomach. She walked towards the building taking a cigarette out her pocket. She took a drag, closing her eyes. "You wanna share that?" Max opened her eyes, and found herself looking at Mike. He had his hand held out. She took the cigarette from her mouth and handed it to him. "Since when do you smoke?" she asked. He smiled, exhaling a cloud, "I could ask you the same thing, Mayfield." She snorted, bumping his shoulder with hers lightly. "So... why are you out here?" she asked. "Everyone's partnered off" he replied simply. Max raised her eyebrows "even Dustin?" she asked. "Yep" Mike said popping the p, "turns out he really was seeing a girl from college, she's in her first year though." He added. "We should've seen it coming, he always had an interest in older girls - starting with Nancy" Max joked, that got a laugh of of Mike who handed her back the cigarette. "God we probably look like the chief and Mrs Byers, sitting out here smoking" Mike commented. Max groaned and they started laughing again. This was nice Max thought. Just them being friendly, no mean comments, no weird tension.