"Hurry up!" Mike moaned, waiting impatiently for Max. It was the next day and the pair had finally decided to go to school. "Calm down I'm coming" Max yelled back, grabbing her backpack. "Don't pinch me" Mike muttered as Max placed her hands on his shoulders, adjusting herself to the back of Mike's bike. They had decided to go to school together, since Max didn't have her skateboard, and Mike wouldn't let her be dropped off by Billy or her stepfather.
"So... she's gonna be there" Max said, as Mike peddled his way down the road. "Sarah?" he affirmed, squirming in his seat slightly, only causing Max's grip on his shoulders to become tighter. "Max you're making my shoulders uncomfortable" the boy whined, Max rolled her eyes from behind and decided to hug Mike's waist instead, making his stomach drop. He shook his head slightly and decided to focus on the road. "She seemed nice" Mike said after a while. Max let out a dramatic groan and Mike felt it ripple through his jacket, filling him with warmth even in the cold morning. "Jesus, what do you have against her?" he asked, turning round a bend. "Nothing" Max muttered looking at the trees passing by. "Actually..." she started looking at the back of Mike's head, "I think there's something... off... about her." Mike sighed "there's always that one person" he chuckled to himself. Max frowned, as she huddled closer to Mike, feeling a chill. "What do you mean?" she piped from behind. Mike breathed a frosted laugh into the air and explained. "Well you see, whenever there's a potential addition to the party, there's always one member that doesn't want them in" Max nodded her mouth parting slightly. "Lucas didn't want El, just like you don't want Sarah" he continued. "And just like you didn't want me" Max finished softly, a thousand fights flashing before them, forcing them both into silence.
The two made it to school in time, and Max grabbed both their bags, as Mike locked his bike against the rack. "You kids are lucky, you were very nearly late!" Mr Clarke chided once they came rushing in. Mike sat down in his regular seat next to Will, and Max next to Dustin. She felt someone watching her so she turned around, and saw Sarah throw a small wave her way. Max waved back out of decency and turned back round ignoring Dustin's excited eyes on her.
"Why were you with Mike?" Lucas asked as he and Max made their way to the lockers. Max pressed the image of Mike laying next to her, his long eyelashes drooping sleepily, to the back of her mind. "We found each other on the way to school." Max said lamely. Lucas didn't ask anything further and simply nodded, keeping his eyes ahead of him. "Max! Lucas!" Dustin called, running behind them. The pair turned around to face their friend who was followed by the rest of the boys and Sarah. "This is Sarah!" the boy informed breathlessly, gesturing towards the girl. Max looked over at Mike who's eyes had found her's. "I know" she replied bluntly, causing their surroundings to thicken with tension. "I met her and Mike at the diner the other night" Sarah told the other boys, as she smiled towards Max. "You were with Mike again?" Lucas asked from Max's side. Will shuffled his feet uncomfortably noticing the awkwardness. "Yeah, remember after the arcade?" Mike offered, causing a sharp look from Lucas. Dustin cleared his throat and looked behind Max's head to the lockers.
"Anyways, how are you finding school Sarah?" Will asked, trying to ease the atmosphere. Sarah smiled sweetly at the boy, her white teeth flashing. "It's cool, you guys have all been really friendly" she replied glancing towards Mike. Max felt a scowl begin to form on her face. "Just doing our job m'am" Dustin said tipping an imaginary hat, earning a laugh out of Sarah. Max felt her insides squirm at the sound. "I'm glad you guys have all met" Dustin continued, much to everyone's chagrin. "Remember I was telling you guys about her yesterday?" he added looking towards Max. "Who's you guys?" Lucas jumped in, his voice on edge. Dustin hesitated, chastising himself inwardly as he looked again at Max. "Me and Steve" she half lied, causing Mike to breathe a sigh of relief, unfortunately Lucas noticed and closed his eyes. "Was Mike there too?" he asked softly. When he reopened his eyes Max's heart dropped to her stomach. His face was pained. "It's not like that..." Max began. "Was Mike there too?" Lucas repeated more harshly this time. Max felt her face heat up in embarrassment and she glanced over at Mike for help, no excuses coming to mind. "Yeah, he was, but it's not like that!" Max confessed truthfully. She reached out towards Lucas and tried to grab his arm, but he shook it off instead striding away from them out the building. Max could feel herself choking up, the lump in her throat throbbing. "Max..." Dustin started, but Max ignored him pushing past the group briefly making eye contact with Mike, who felt his heart sting as he saw the rim of her eyes fill with water. With that she was gone leaving the rest of the boys alone with Sarah, who had watched the whole show with secret amusement.
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