Max stepped outside her house and the crisp wind bit at her face. She didn't bother to tell Billy she was going next door to Mike's house, he didn't care anyways.
Max knocked on the Wheeler's door, and Eleven flung it open. " Oh, hey." she said.
"Uh, Hi." Max replied, clearly not expecting Eleven to answer. "Is Mike home?" She asked. Eleven nodded. "Yeah in the basement with Lucas, Dustin and Will. Come on in." She said, gesturing for her to come in the house.
Eleven walked ahead of Max, leading her down the stairs. "Hey guys Max is here." She called. Lucas sat up straighter, Dustin and Will half waved, not looking up from their dungeons and dragon game, and Mike smiled. Eleven didn't like how Mike smiled at Max. She especially didn't like how Max smiled back at Mike.
"Hey Max! We're just starting a campaign, wanna join?" Mike asked enthusiastically. Max laughed. "Um, I'm not sure I know how to play." She told the group. Lucas ran up to her side and put his arm around her. "I'll teach you!" He exclaimed. Max shrugged his arm off and looked in Mike's direction. "Sure sounds good!"
An hour later the six sat around the table yelling at each other about the game.
"DUSTIN. DON'T DO IT! ROLLING A TWENTY IS HARD." Lucas screamed. Dustin hesitated. "DUSTIN YOU HAVE TO DO IT!!!" Will screamed back.
Dustin panicked and threw the dice in the air. The group stood up frantically looking for it. Max lifted her hand in the air. "It's a twenty!" Everyone started giving each other high fives and cheered. Dustin gave a sigh of relief. "Hey can I get a drink of water?" Max asked. "Yeah sure it's up the stairs and the cups are in the cupboard on the far right!" Mike called to her as he was still celebrating with the rest of the group.
Max walked up the stairs but something caught her eye. A picture on the mantle. She walked closer and picked it up. It was a shot of Mike and Eleven hugging, they looked like they had been crying happy tears. Underneath the picture was a caption, "Mike and Eleven after she came back." Max furrowed her brow. After Eleven came back? What does that mean?
"Got lost trying to find the cups?" A voice asked from across the living room. Max quickly put the picture down and turned around. Eleven was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "Oh um yeah sorry I was just looking at...this." She said. Eleven's expression didn't change. She stared at Max, turned around and walked back downstairs. Max breathed a sigh of relief, not realizing she had been holding it in. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, all she was going was looking at a picture, but she knew Eleven didn't like her. Max wasn't so sure she liked her either. Max took one more look at the picture, and on impulse she grabbed it and stuck it up her sweatshirt.
Max walked to the top of the stairs and yelled down, "Hey guys I gotta go, thanks for having me over I really had fun!" Within 10 seconds of her saying that, Mike was standing by her side. He smiled and said awkwardly. "Bye Max, see you tomorrow at school!" He said before sprinting back downstairs. She blushed and smiled. Then she frowned. Why was she blushing? It's not like she had feelings for a guy who has a girlfriend. Besides, she had more important things to worry about.
Like finding out what secrets Mike, Eleven, Will, Dustin and Lucas were keeping from her.
Yay 20th chapter!! Hope you all enjoyed it. Btw the texting format will be back in a few chapters! I just needed to write it in real life to make the story work. Love you all thanks for reading! - Nora💕
