Flames | Madwheeler |✗|

12 | The Sixth Sense

Annika looked at Max, "What was that about?"

Max shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing, he's just scared to come near me."

"Why?"

"Cause Mike punched him."

Abruptly Annika grasped onto Max's arm, almost causing the girl to fall over before she steadied herself, "We need to talk about this."

"I don't thin-"

Before Max could even finish her sentence she was being dragged towards one of the empty picnic tables, Annika turning to face her expectedly once she sat down beside her.

"Do you like Mike?"

Max snorted. Of course she didn't like him, he had just barely started tolerating her, he had been the biggest dick to her when she had first moved here, he had refused to even giver her a chance, but he had also stood up for her, multiple times, he was there for her when no one else was, he would be nice to her one second and then go back to being a complete douche the next. Anything that involved Mike Wheeler was complicated, completely and utterly complicated, but Annika wouldn't understand that.

"No, there's not one bone in my body that likes him."

Annika stared at Max, her eyes filled with a mixture of emotions, gaze penetrating, finally, Max broke the staring contest they had unconsciously started, Annika spoke,

"You're lying."

Max huffed starting to retaliate when a voice spoke over her,

"What's Max lying about?"

Max turned around to see Will Byers walking towards them, slipping in the seat across from her.

Annika sighed playfully, "Maxine here, likes someone."

Will gasped, "Is that why you broke up with Lucas? You like someone else?"

Max was about to speak when she was once again cut off, this time by Annika's screeching,

"You broke up with Lucas?" Her voice sounded surprised, but something in her eyes made Max feel like she already knew.

"I did break up with Lucas, but not because I like someone else, but because I feel like I've outgrown the relationship, I mean we were so young when we started dating, I didn't think it was going to be forever."

"Well, I don't think Lucas sees it that way."

Max stared at Will, urging him to continue, "He's hellbent that you guys are in love with each other and will get back together."

Max let out a gasp, "He's what?!? Why?"

Will shrugged his shoulders, "He's not over it, I guess."

Max chewed on her bottom lip, a bad habit she did whenever she felt anxious, and right now with all this Lucas drama she felt a little bit overwhelmed, she just needed to take a breathe and detach for a while, that's why she had started hanging out with the party less, to let Lucas and herself heal, and also partly because she just couldn't get out what Lucas said to her about what Mike thought of her, out of her head. He loathed her, she knew that, so why wouldn't that small part of her, the part that liked being with Mike let her believe that? She knew her answer before she even really thought about it, even though Lucas had told her all the nasty things Mike said about her, he had shown her that in the end, she could count on him, Lucas didn't know what he had done for her, after all, actions spoke louder than words.

"Maybe Mike likes you" Annika spoke.

Max scoffed, "As if, I've never seen two people more in love then Mike and Jane."