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"El!"
THE PLEADING CRY had been easily deciphered among the crowded halls of hawkins high by her best friend. el had been happily chatting to a cute boy in her math class until she was called upon. now, she was searching, almost as desperately as the shout, for the source of it.
"max!" el had called out after finding her friend cooped in a corner near a row of lockers, picking up her scattered books. it seemed as though max could read the approaching girl's mind as she hastily answered.
"got pushed by some douche, don't worry about it."
max was pretty, smart, tough and an independent girl that stood her ground, not only that but she also had a kind, pretty best friend. most people envied this leading to few people actually liking her. most were too jealous to admit that she was a cool girl. and, although a lot of people envied her, only a select few decided to act on it. unfortunately, one of the main ones had to be troy walsh (the most popular boy in 10th grade) and his goonies. but alas, max still remained strong, even if her public status continued to be brutally attacked by troy.
"so, what happened with troy this time?" max sighed: there was no point lying to el. max liked to keep her troubles to herself, she never wanted to be a nuisance and unfortunately for her, el wouldn't take her closed-off trait for an answer.
"well, remember when me and troy had that argument on monday?" el nodded, "he ended up betting on me not having a boyfriend to take to the snowball and said that if i did, he'd leave me alone. so, because i was desperate, i kind of told him i'm already dating someone and i'm taking them to snowball..."
well that couldn't be so so bad, she still has two weeks, el thought. max, once again, succeeding to read el, answered her question, "he wants to see him tomorrow..."
"maaaax!" el whined, astonished by her friend's shameful procrastination, "you'll be humiliated if you don't find a date!"
"i know! that's why i need your help!"
"what am i supposed to do?" max genuinely had no clue as to how her friend was supposed to help. that was until a little lightbulb flashed in her head.
"i saw you talking with that guy in your math class." a fierce blush betrayed el as she attempted to look as nonchalant as possible.
"yeah, so?"
"i need to get close to one boy in particular, and he's in their friend group."
"got a crush maxie? how cute!" el cooed but max quickly shut down the possibility.
"no! it's just out of the friendship group, one of them's gay, i think he's called will, one of them has a girlfriend - dustin, i think. i went to science camp with him and his girlfriend in 8th grade before you ask. so, because of this i only have two options, don't i? and it looks like you have your eye on that guy. i think he's called miles?"
el gawked at her friend, shocked at how she'd managed to analyse the group without uttering a single word to any of them (minus dustin). she knew max was intelligent, but it still was so crazy to her, how developed her friend's brain was. she snapped back to reality after the mention of a specific boy.
"his name is mike and no, i do not like him!" max simply stared at her friend, deadpan covering her entire face. it took a matter of 5 seconds before el cracked .
"okay fine," she flung her arms up in defeat, "i do like him. but, i mean, how could you not?"
"he looks like a dork."
"you look like a dork." for a very short amount of time, el glared at max. that was, until, she burst out laughing, max following. it took quite a few odd looks in the hallways, and a teacher leaving her classroom to scold them for being so loud before they left the spot where max was previously picking up her books and left to go get food from the cafeteria.
-
"where's your skateboard?" el had realised her friend wasn't zooming past people on her skateboard, flipping off anyone who dared to get in her way.
"i left it in my locker, i'll get it after school." a comfortable silence fell upon the pair as they walked towards the lunch queue.
as they moved further in the queue, el suddenly remembered their previous conversation.
"so why do you need to only go for their friendship group? there's plenty of boys to pick from." el asked, bemused at why her friend couldn't just make her life easier by picking some geek, desperate for a girlfriend.
"well, first of all, it makes more sense seeing as everyone with eyes can see the new relationship building between you and mike." eleven looked away after hearing that, profusely turning pink, "secondly, they seem like nice guys. no toxic masculinity. no treating people like trash to look cool in front of their friends. no sexist remarks. they're just a bunch of genuine guys." and with that, max collected her plate, now filled with food, from the lunch lady and looked for a place to sit.
"so that's the only reason you're going for them?" el asked, one eyebrow shooting up as looked at max, she was clearly amused by her friend's obviousness. max nodded vigorously at her friend, hopping it would convince her stubborn friend.
the girls had been looking around the cafeteria for a seat - the school was pretty big and so was the number of students, which meant it could take a while before you found a seat. el looked towards her friend, a smirk playing at her lips. she had known this girl since 7th grade, there was no way that was the only reason she picked the group of boys as a way to find a date to the snowball. she'd let it slide, for now.
they had been looking around for at least 5 minutes and the two were still searching for a table to sit at. today was a popular day for eating inside the canteen, however, and every table that wouldn't judge the girls was taken. all but one...
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hey guys! first chapter done ✅ how was it?
also, how are you guys holding up in quarantine? i'm doing okay but really miss school :\
