𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑, elmax [ discontinued ]

ch. 1 // prologue

El hugged Max' back tighter from behind, sitting on the carrier of Max's bike.
She allowed herself to rest her cheek on back of Max' neck, and inhale the fresh scent of her hair.

It's funny, El thought to herself, admiring the fast-passing view from the back of Max' bike, how we went from completely ignoring each other... to this.
She closed her eyes, and enjoyed the moment.

Back then, when El and Max first met, wasn't any success. El had returned home after almost a year away from home. At that time Mike and Eleven still had feelings for each other.
El had walked through the door, looking at Hopper first, but then moving her gaze right into the eyes of the unknown redhead.
They stared at each other for awhile, and it had made El feel this weird, certain way.
She suddenly felt awkward, so she quickly turned to Mike, and the two had their own little reunion.

The following days - weeks, even - Max had tried to get to El, but El would leave or try to avoid her glance, whenever she was around.
One time El had even sent Max a scowl, and that was the point where she gave up on trying to socialize with El.

They ignored each other, and didn't talk for almost two years, until they were forced inside the same room for a few hours.

Despite their past, they were in fact the closest pair of best friends in Hawkins.
However, Eleven truly regretted treating Max as she did. They could have been friends for two more years, if only she had been nicer to her.

But she couldn't help it back then. Every time she looked at Max, she would feel this indescribable feeling in the stomach, she would feel like blushing and even if she wanted to, she couldn't get herself to say anything to her.

"Wake up lazy," Max interrupted El's thoughts with a giggle. Max' laugh was her favourite laugh, it would always automatically make her smile herself.
Max had parked the bike she was still sitting on, in front of her current favourite place; the arcade.

Eleven looked up, to face her best friend, who had turned her head half around to look at the girl on her luggage carrier.
"I'm awake," El said softly, yet with a little sass in her voice, "I was just thinking."

Max stepped off the bike, almost causing Eleven to fall off, from the change of the balance point. Max laughed as she reached her hand out for El to grab it.
El blushed slightly in embarrassment, while taking Max' hand.

Eleven had noticed how the weird feeling, she used to get around Max a few years ago, had started to return.