odd ; elmax & harringrove

.2

words: 1009
not much happens but it's still an important chapter
there's a tiny bit of fluff but not much - also TRIGGER WARNING - SMALL MENTIONS OF SELF HARM

"Where were you? I waited there for you at the school for hours!" Hopper shouted at Jane, holding the bottom of the telephone against his chest. Jane stood there in front of the opened door, her hair tangled and messy.

"Max's," Jane answered.

"Max? Now you're seeing boys already? You're hardly fourteen years old, Jane!" Hopper snapped.

"Max isn't a boy," Jane replied in an attempt to reassure her frantic father. At least that's what Jane thought he was. She had lived with him almost a year now, so she assumed he was.

"What? Well, you should have asked me first. You're grounded, Jane. Do you know what that means?" Hopper said, sternly.

Jane shook her head and looked down at her feet, as she didn't want to see her father right now. She could have easily flung him to the ground with only her mind, but what would be the point of that? There would be no point. There would only be more consequences.

"It means no TV, no eggos, and definitely no sneaking over to your friend's house. You come straight home from school, do you hear me?"

"Yes."

🌈🌻🌈

"Do you wanna come over again?" The freckled girl asked as they walked out the building.

Jane looked around for Hopper's truck, but it was nowhere to be found. She continued walking and nodded in response to Max. She set her skateboard down on the pavement and motioned for Jane to get on.

Jane followed her instruction and stepped onto the skateboard, balancing herself.

"There you go," the ginger laughed.

"Now, push with this foot and try to stay balanced." She instructed, pointing at Jane's leg. She followed along as Jane started to ride. Max was surprised at how good Jane was. Has she ever ridden before? Surely not.

They arrived at the little house, sneaking in through Max's window once more. But what they didn't see is Billy standing there at the door.

"So... You decided to do it again?" The male voice said.

"Do what, Billy?" Max replied.

"Come home late with that girl, you little queer."

Jane had no idea what the word meant, but she could only assume it was bad.

"What the fuck, Billy?! Get out of my room!"

Max gave Billy a weak push, which only resulted in her being knocked to the ground by the older boy. Jane watched as Max fell wishing she could do something. But she couldn't use her powers anymore. It would put her in danger if anyone found out.

Jane kneeled down to the ground as Billy left, examining Max to see if she was alright.

"Max?" She said softly, shaking Max by the shoulders. Her heart began to race and her eyes filled with tears as she shook Max harder.

Jane let out a sigh of relief as soon as Max's eyes began to slowly flutter open.

"Huh? Oh, Jane, it's just you." Max said, sitting up. Jane quickly wiped her teary eyes and stood up. Max tried to remember what had happened, but she all she could remember was Billy coming in. "What happened?"

"Billy pushed you," Jane said, examining Max to see if she was alright. Jane slowly lifted up the sleeve of Max's sweater to reveal her wrist, with a few red lines on them.

"What are these?" Jane asked as she ran her finger over the marks.

"Nothing!" Max said defensively. She pulled down her sleeve so her wrist was covered like always.

"Oh... I'm hungry, Max." Jane said, her hand placed on her stomach. The ginger couldn't help but notice Jane looked like a cute puppy dog when she looked at her. Max's cheeks turned rosy red as she went over to the door and opened it quietly.

Max snuck past Billy's room, where she could see someone with him through the space where his door was open. She couldn't tell who it was, though. The two girls crept downstairs and gathered some snacks before sneaking back upstairs. Billy's door was open a little wider this time, so Max could see him and Steve Harrington. 

Steve? Didn't he get in a fight with Billy a while ago? Don't they hate each other? Max thought as she stepped into her room. 

Jane dug into the bag of popcorn and ate some, while Max crept outside her door, and peeked inside Billy's room. She could see more now from that angle, and a confused look appeared on her face as she saw Steve being up against the wall by her stepbrother. Their bodies were touching and their faces were only a few inches apart. 

Max looked away, as she didn't exactly want to watch her stepbrother and babysitter making out. The girl always had a feeling Billy liked other boys, but she would have never guessed Steve did. Wasn't he with Nancy? Or was she with that other guy, Jonathan? Max had no idea. She couldn't keep up with the older teens, thankfully they would all be moving away soon. Well, hopefully. 

Max went turned around, to see Jane right behind her which made her jump. "How long have you been standing there?" 

"Um... I don't know." Jane replied nervously.

"Did you see... That?" 

Jane nodded in response and stepped back and sat down on the bed. She had never seen a boy with another boy, but she assumed it was normal since Billy and Steve were together. Weren't they? Did that mean her and Max could be together? Jane pecked Max's cheek when she wasn't expecting it, resulting in both of them blushing. 

Max's eyes opened wide in shock as she turned around. "Huh?"

"Now you do it, Max."

Jane, of course, didn't understand how relationships worked, but she knew that if two people loved each other, they did the thing where they closed their eyes and their lips came together. But only if it felt right. 

"Are you crazy? What if someone finds out, Jane!" Max snapped. Jane didn't know what was so bad about it. So what if someone found out? 

well, there's chapter two! thank you to everyone who read the first part you guys make me so happy like fr i didn't think anyone would actually read this?? chapter 3 will be out soon <3