The Tubular Moments // Lucas and Max (Lumax)

A Tubular Snowball

As the last note of, Every Breath You Take, played across the gymnasium I lifted my head from its former resting position; Lucas' shoulder. Ever since judgement day had occurred, (that's what Lucas liked to call the great battle with the demodogs), I've been on edge. But in this moment, wrapped in warmth by Lucas' arms, I felt safe. I looked up to meet his brown eyes. The eyes that I've found comfort in, since day one. Even when all hell breaks loose at home, I know that I can always go to him. Although it doesn't fix anything, it feels like it fixes everything.

Like... like, I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not.

Pretending. God, I hate it. I've grown so use to it recently. Ever since Mom and Dad got divorced, it's all I'm doing. My new stepbrother is angry... all the time, and I'm in the firing line. People can read my lips, not my mind; see my smile, not my pain; know my name but not my story. But, Lucas knows everything. I'm an open book when I'm around him. This strong and tough exterior personality I put on, crumbles when I'm around him. It's like I'm a completely different person. What does that mean?

Well... maybe I know - I really, really like him. Jesus, I can be such a girl! What can I say? He's 'totally tubular'. That's why I kissed him tonight.

As we walk hand in hand towards the rest of the party, I notice Eleven. I tense up at the thought of our last interaction where she blatantly ignored me as I tried to introduce myself. Lucas obviously noticed this (of course he did!) and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. So, I gathered myself and walked towards them with a confidence I only felt when Lucas was by my side.

"Took you two long enough to join us. Were you too caught up in each other to notice we were still here?" Dustin teased. Typical.

"Shut up." Lucas rolled his eyes at his friend, but despite the clear embarrassment on his face, he never let go of my hand.

I looked towards Eleven and Mike, in a similar stance to Lucas and I. They were holding each other's hands. I finally understood why Mike was such a jerk to be around when Eleven was 'missing'. Based off how I feel when I'm with Lucas, I can emphasize with him. I don't think I'd be a nice person to be around if he went away. Right now, he's most of what I've got. As I avert my attention back to the couple, I decide it's time for a take two.

"Eleven? Um... I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you." I extend my hand out to her, hoping for a change in attitude.

Eleven briefly glanced at Lucas and I's intertwined hands. For a moment, I saw a flicker of realisation hit her face. My hand stayed there for a while, until Eleven finally accepted it. Thank god for that.

Before anything else could be said, the ghostbusters theme song started to play. There was a moment of silence. But in that moment, everybody had the same thing on their mind. We ran onto the dance floor and the boys began to dance.

Dustin was exaggerating every move, flashing that proud smile that we've all grown to love. Will wasn't as confident but was still rhythmically bobbing his head along to the music, it was the first time I had seen him truly happy. Mike was doing his best to prevent his long limbs from looking awkward, mostly just watching his friends with admiration. El wasn't sure what to do, but she seemed to start to sway with the music. Lucas was doing a variety of moves that all seemed to fit perfectly. He grabbed my hand and spun me. I laughed and couldn't help but to join him.

We were all having a great time because in that moment, we had all forgotten about the terrors of the upside down. We could all be stress-free and oblivious to real fear. How normal 13-year-olds should be. 13-year-olds who hadn't battled the face of death.

As the song came to an end, the gym was noticeably less crowded. I guess people couldn't stand how fantastic our dancing was. I obviously couldn't blame them. We were really good, after all. However, taking this as a sign, we walked outside to where Joyce, Hopper, Nancy, Jonathan and Steve were waiting.