Unexpected Ways | Madwheeler

Chapter 10.

"Max c'mon!" Will whined from behind her. "What?" she groaned mimicking his tone. Will crossed his arms and stopped in his tracks, like a child having a tantrum. "Shouldn't we tell Mike about his mom?" Max threw her head back in annoyance. "No!" Will began to protest when he saw Max's face "Do you even know what Billy will do to me if he finds out?" Will swallowed, "I'm sorry... I just felt like he deserved to know" Max shook her head.  "What will come out of it even if we do? Mike will be crushed and Billy will be pissed" she said flinging an arm around the shorter boy's shoulders, as they approached the arcade. The party had decided to all meet up there since the renovation was finally done, and they were unveiling the new games today.

They saw the group and waved at them. The party all broke out in a series of hugs and fists bumps and in all the chaos Mike's arms found Max's waist. The hug was brief, unlike the first one they shared at Mike's house. Something had changed between them, something that neither of them knew exactly what. "Max!" El greeted. Max parted with Mike and took the girl in a large hug. "I'm sorry about the mouthbreathers" El said sympathetically. Max flashed her a smile "or as I like to call them, my family" Mike bit his lip from behind the girls. She was still so casual about it, and it still upset him. "Anyways let's proceed to the new games!" Dustin yelled barely containing his excitement. The group laughed at him and they started pairing off. Max and El decided to go together because a pro like Max needed to teach her, despite Dustin claiming that he was the best. "Please you only win because I go easy on you after like the 5th rematch." Max teased, much to Dustin's embarrassment.

"Max?" El asked tentatively while Max was pressing the buttons frantically. "Mhm" she replied not glancing from the controls. "Max?" El tried again. "Yeah?" Max said again not looking up. "Max!" El said more forced, grabbing her shoulders. "What happened?" Max asked confused. "I want to ask you something" Max groaned frustrated. "But El! I nearly beat the high score!" El licked her lips hesitantly. "It's important..." Max stared at her waiting for her to continue. "I... I saw a girl today" Max frowned. "Uh... congratulations?" El let out an awkward laugh. "She was... pretty" Max frowned again. "I'm sure she was?" the girl replied not knowing where this conversation was headed. El was getting visibly uncomfortable and so was Max, so she decided to take her out to someplace quieter. "Let's go round the back" Max offered, the other girl smiled gratefully and followed her.

"I used to come here, when I wanted to get away from the world. Looks like they've jazzed it up a bit" Max informed with a laugh. El smiled again at Max. "I like Mike" she said suddenly. Max stopped and felt her stomach flip. "I know" Max said simply. "And I like... the girl too" Max finally realised, and she looked at El. "She got a name?" Max asked. El squirmed and shuffled her feet awkwardly. "It's fine, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you're allowed to like her too, you can like anybody." Max said warmly, she wasn't good with sentimental stuff but she found it flowing naturally when faced with El. "But on the television —" "Screw the television! Everybody knows it's make belief!" Max cried out. El nodded feeling reassured very slightly. "I still like Mike too" she said firmly. "That's nice" Max said, as she felt her stomach lurch again. "So who's the girl?" Max probed causing El to go red. Max laughed and elbowed her. "I don't know her name. She's always at the diner Steve works in" El finally revealed. "Awww" Max gushed, winking at her. "But what about Mike?" El said suddenly sounding scared. Max placed a friendly hand over El's. "You can like more than one person, you shouldn't feel guilty. You can even like them at the same time" Max reassured, her own words echoing through her head. El nodded again taking Max in a tight hug. Max smiled and squeezed the girl back.

The girls left the back room and made their way to the rest of the group. "You wanna head home?" Lucas asked them. "I need to pop over to Steve's work." Max said nudging El, who just about concealed her growing blush. "I do too" Mike piped up, causing Lucas to glance at him. "I need to get my dad's dinner" he explained. Will and Dustin shared a look at the mention of Mr Wheeler, probably remembering his wife and Billy's affair. The group parted ways, with Will and El being collected by Hopper, Lucas and Dustin making their way back home on their bikes and Mike and Max heading towards the diner.