The Tubular Moments // Lucas and Max (Lumax)

A Tubular Brother

Billy was trying to be better, he really was. And she could tell.

She could tell through the way he smiled at her when she got out of the car. The way he would give her reassuring nods when Neil would ask her questions over the dining table. The way he would respectfully acknowledge Lucas whenever he saw him. The way he tried to protect her from Neil's wrath.

But he had his moments where he would go back to the old Billy. These were the moments when he had dealt with a little too much. When his pent-up anger would get the better of him.

Max would be lying if she said that she wouldn't get upset when he got angry at her. She had always been independent, perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She guessed that was what came with not hoping for anything. If she didn't hope for anything, she wouldn't be disappointed.

"Hope is for suckers." She would tell herself.

But the part of Max that still had hope in Billy would never go away. No matter how hard she tried to get rid of it, it would remain. Because when Billy was happy and nice, it made her feel better. And it was becoming more common for him to have good moments.

They would even share sibling moments.

"What's the matter with you?" Billy asked one day. Max had come into the car with a sour attitude. He could tell she'd been hurt.

"Nothing. Why does it matter to you anyway?" She snapped.

"Jesus. Sorry for worrying shit head."

Billy was pissed by her stubbornness, but he knew why she was acting that way. Much like him, she had a shitty childhood, made to look after herself far too young. Unfortunately, that crap caused trust issues. Meaning that you didn't know what to do when somebody was willing to care. Yeah... how inconvenient.

He'd often reflect on what he's said to Max in the past, and he would partly blame himself for making her feel that way. But another part of him knows she can handle it better than he ever could.

She would hopefully understand his anger better than anybody else. Maybe that's why he took it out on her. Because she did the same. She was never as harsh, but she was feisty, and boy, she could yell. She could yell.

He laughed at the thought of it, and turned up the music on the car's stereo.

"Here I am. Rock you like a hurricane." Billy sang (rather obnoxiously, Max would say).

"Would you shut up?" She yelled.

"C'mon Max! This song belongs to us, I'd say that we bought quite the shock to Hawkins Indiana. The idiots had no idea what Californians could bring."

Max tried to hide a smile. He was annoying, but she couldn't help but agree. Hawkins seemed so uptight, every family wanting to live the American Dream. Their "rebellious" teens thinking they could stir the pot by doing something as innocent as threatening to run away.

None of them would ever have the balls to actually do it, unlike Max. She did in California, but that's another story.

So when the Hargrove and Mayfield kids arrived, leather jacket and skateboard in tow, Hawkins was, in fact, in quite the shock. It was hilarious.

Caught up in her thoughts, Max barely realised Billy missed the turn into their street.

"Wait. Where are we going Billy?" Max asked, worry laced in her voice.

"Relax!" Billy laughed. "Figured that ice cream could fix your bitchy mood. Besides, Neil doesn't arrive home until 6. What do you say?"

"Oh. Ok sure." Max was caught off guard. Billy was actually trying to help her feel better. The world must be ending.