A life less ordinary ||~~Elax/Elmax~~||

The Storm part 2

An hour later Max was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, El looked at her and smiled "I thought you weren't scared of anything...you always seem so brave" she said puzzled.

"It's fucking scary, that's why...why the hell aren't you scared?" Max replied almost angry at El's nonchalance.

El looked down at the floor, "I...I've seen far worse."

Max closed her eyes tight damn. Opening them again she looked at El "I'm sorry, that was stupid" she said.

"No" said El forcefully, "I don't want this, I don't want you to have to...to second guess what you say to me...I know I'm not 'normal', but please treat me as if I were, please."

"Yeah, you are pretty freaky," El frowned slightly, not expecting this reaction, "but you are way better than normal, trust me, you're awesome...but I think we can do normal" Max said smiling.

El smiled back, thinking how lucky she was to have met someone as accepting as Max, then she realized that they were still looking at each other, and in no way did it feel awkward. Then it happened, a large bolt of lightning and crack of thunder hit within seconds of each other and El practically jumped off the couch in fear. "W...w...what...was that?" she said, her mind having a flashback to the first night she escaped the lab, the night Mike found her.

"El, it's ok" said Max, pulling her into a hug, "it's just part of the storm, the flash is called lightning and the sound is just thunder, it's totally normal, ok?"

El nodded into her shoulder to indicate her understanding, but it didn't stop her jumping again the next time it happened, or her body shaking in fear.

"Come on, it'll be over soon I promise. We'd better turn the tv off and go to bed anyway, it's getting late, ok?" said Max soothingly. El nodded, too scared to speak.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Max could see that El wasn't going to get any sleep while the storm was still happening so she tried to distract her, "what's it like living with the Wheeler's?" she asked.

"Uh, it's really good I guess...I don't really have anything to compare it to...except the obvious, in which case it's amazing" El said smiling.

Max was impressed by El's emerging sense of humor and her ability to make light of her past. From the few snippets of information she'd heard from El over the past half year she was amazed that El could function at all, let alone seem so capable.

"So, um, what about Mike? You know..." asked Max, not sure why she was so nervous about the possible answer.

El frowned, not quite knowing how to answer. "He...he's like my closest friend, and the best brother I could have, I know I can tell him anything and he will understand...he was the first person to save me."

"The first?"

"Yes, you've all saved me at one point or another" she said, unable to meet Max's eye, "you just didn't know it."

Max didn't know what to say, she'd never exactly had many girl friends to have sleepovers with but was pretty sure the conversations didn't usually run so deep. "I don't really know what to say" she said awkwardly.

"Why do you have to say anything?" asked El.

"Well...I am trying to distract you from the storm...wait, actually I think it's over" Max said, looking out the window.

"I'm really tired, Max, can we sleep now?" asked El.

"Hell yeah, I'm shattered too. Night El."

"Goodnight Max."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~*

"El?" said Max quietly, upon receiving no answer she tried again but louder, "El?" She had been woken by a strange noise, and looking over the edge of her bed she saw El tossing and turning, sweat evident on her brow, and crying out in her sleep. "Shit, El, wake up!" she said, jumping off the bed and crouching down next to her.

"No! It hurts...please...stop!"

"El!" Max shouted desperately, "El wake up!" she continued, shaking her.

El shot up, almost headbutting Max in the process and making her fall backwards. She was disorientated and breathing hard, too hard. Max saw that she couldn't seem to calm down, to slow her breathing, and was in danger of hyperventilating. She scrambled back up from where she'd fallen backwards and pulled El into a tight hug, "El, it's ok, just breathe ok? I got you" she said softly. She felt as El's breathing slowed, but this was soon replaced by the sobs she couldn't hold back. She felt El's arms snake around her back and grab fistfuls of her top, holding on tight as if she was afraid to let go. Max instinctively started to rock her gently, "what happened El? talk to me."

"The lightning...I remember the lab, the...the electric machine...it hurt me" she stuttered.

Max felt sick but she had to stay strong for El, "they used electricity on you? They shocked you?"

She felt El nod, "when...I was bad, when I failed."

Max balled her fists, trying to suppress her anger, "I'm sorry..."

"Don't" said El, "I can take other people's pity, not yours, I need...someone who won't do that...I need you to just be there...can you do that...for me?" she asked, pushing away and looking into Max's eyes.

She smiled through the tears she unexpectedly found falling from her eyes, "yeah, I can do that."

"Thank you" said El gratefully.

"Come on" said Max, sniffing and gesturing to her bed, "I think you might sleep better next to me tonight." Upon seeing El's unsure expression, "truth be told that film freaked me out...I could do with the company too" she added, smiling.

Max climbed back onto her bed and patted the space beside her, El obliged and lay down next to her, eventually resting her head on Max's shoulder "is this ok?" she asked, not wanting to squash Max.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just wake me if you need to, ok?"

"Yes."

"Night El."

"Night Max."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~*