falling | mayfield

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max had finally been acquainted with eleven. 

and she felt absolutely horrible. 

it wasn't the fact that eleven hadn't taken her handshake- it was awfully embarassing, yes- but it was more something else. 

as soon as that door opened, as soon as the lock slid out of place, as soon as she stepped in with her slicked back hair and grunge outfit, max felt a spark. 

she thought eleven was beautiful. max loved her dark eyes, the ones that hid an unspeakable anger, she loved the mysterious aura she gave off, and she loved how her face softened as soon as she saw mike- even if she was a little jealous. 

max liked eleven. 

and she hated herself for it. 

- 

the final battle was finally over. max was proud of herself, in a way. she was happy to have helped- and now that she had seen everything, she felt guilty for not believing lucas before. 

her bruises from billy were healing, but not nearly quick enough. as her mother was helping her get ready for the snowball she noticed them immediately. as much as max wanted to tell her the truth and get billy in trouble, it would mean outing herself as well. so, she did what she always did; she lied to protect herself. 

the whole ride to the snowball max was thinking. she was trying to come up with a solution to her problems. she didnt want to be a lesbian- or she didnt want to hide it from everyone. but if she told everyone, she would be hated and tortured, just as will was. and she already knew that she couldnt ignore her sexuality, as every time she saw eleven her heart seemed to jump out of her chest and run to the girl's hand. 

max had reached her final desicion by the time her car was in the parking lot of hawkins middle. 

she loved lucas- she loved him as a friend. as much as she told herself that something she didn't want to happen was going to happen, she didnt want to disappoint him. so she danced with the boy. 

she didnt want to kiss him. it was different than other kisses she had shared with boys. the others were lazy and stupid, with no meaningful purpose. but with lucas, she knew who she was. she didnt like boys. but lucas liked her and she felt awful for leading him on as if she liked him back. 

so she gave him a fake smile, and oh what an awful time it was to look over lucas' shoulders. 

she looked so happy with mike, their lips connected. she looked beautiful- her hair slightly wavy and her makeup soft tones. the dress really looked good on her, max thought. she took in the sight of the gorgeous girl, smiling softly- a real smile. 

billy found max dead in her bedroom the next morning with a large kitchen knife on the floor next to her. he hated max, yes, but that didnt stop him for screaming and running to get his step-mother and father. 

the funeral was held the same weekend. the party attended, as did many locals and the entirety of hawkins middle's staff. 

no one knew quite why max killed herself. 

no one, bar the party.