REFUGE ( madwheeler )

vii. follow me

— ❝ don't follow me, you'll end up in my arms❞
                     ~Slow Dancing in the Dark, Joji

on the morning of the second day of school, max awoke to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm blaring through an unfamiliar room. memories of the previous night flooded back to her and her eyes widened, scanning what she now recognised to be michael wheeler's room. as she did this, her alert eyes locked with his tired ones, and they both froze for a moment. "morning" mike said, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face and surprising max.

"morning," she returned, unable to muster a smile and grimacing as she sat up, clutching her stomach. mike immediately sat up as well, worry etched on his face.

"should i get you an ice pack?" he asked cautiously, already getting up.

"no, it's okay," max murmured, moving to get up but wincing again. she was too stubborn to admit it, but she knew it'd help.

mike must've know that too, because he shook his head. "no, i'm getting you one" he said, heading toward his door.

max took a steadying breath, before a realisation hit her. "wait, what about your parents?" she asked in a hushed voice. mike glanced toward his clock, as did max. 6:34.

"everyone'll be gone by now anyway. it's just us" he said, shrugging, before exiting the room and leaving max alone to her thoughts. she glanced down at her arms and legs, assessing the damage from the night before. it was bad, and she knew it. she shuddered to think what would've happened if she hadn't ran away. tears pricked her eyes at the thought of returning home at all.

desperate to get her mind off it, max turned to inspect the room that surrounded her for only the second time since she'd arrived. a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as her gaze landed on a framed photo of mike, el, max and lucas. they were laughing together, and there was a distinct absence of tension that was clear even in the photo. she didn't even know that the photo existed. she didn't remember taking it. she felt a small tug at her heart at that, wishing it sat in her own room, too.

before max could become more immersed in her thoughts, mike entered again with an icepack wrapped in cloth. he handed it to her silently and she nodded in thanks, pressing it to her stomach with a sharp inhale of breath. she stood despite the pain and mike's protests, looking around the room to avoid his gaze. "i should probably go home to get clothes and stuff" she said, dread seeping into her voice even at the prospect of it. mike shook his head profusely.

"you can borrow something of mine," he said immediately, a look of concern evident on his face. max felt relief flood her instantly at that, and she was far too exhausted and overwhelmed to argue. still, she felt safer here with him than she had in a long while. she smiled lightly at him for the first time since he'd found her the night before. "thanks," she replied. she didn't notice how intently he watched her, or how he perked up just slightly when she smiled. it was a good thing, too, for lucas would've been furious if he had known.

that wasn't to say he wasn't furious enough already, though, and as much was clear when mike pulled up to school and max stepped out of the passenger side instead of jane. this was only added to by the fact that max was clearly wearing one of mike's long sleeved shirts, that had blue stripes on it and a loose collar that made only more obvious that it was much too big for her. she wore jeans that were much too tight for her liking and boots that both belonged to nancy, and was for once not clutching her skateboard. she instead held onto the ends of the oversized shirt's sleeves, feeling bare and vulnerable.

max's eyes met lucas' and she could tell he was beyond angry. she knew how it looked. before she could begin to explain to him and the rest of the party standing a short while away, he stormed over past her to mike, who was also just stepping out of the car, clearly ready to raise hell. "why the fuck are you with my girlfriend?" he asked, seething, standing intimidatingly close to mike. max's eyes widened and she rushed over, not wanting things to escalate. she was too late.

"i dunno, lucas, not sure that it's any of your business though," mike retorted, avoiding eye contact with max. it only added to her worry.

"i think it becomes my business when you've been looking at her like you like her all week, then you try to protect her from troy, and then she shows up to school in your car wearing one of your fucking shirts when the last thing i knew she was at home last night!" lucas exclaimed. max couldn't help but glance around the parking lot, relieved to find that there was nobody close enough to overhear the conversation. except the party. at that realisation, she felt a blush rise to her face and she quickly looked down once again, fidgeting with the hem of mike's shirt. it was warm, and she liked it.

"maybe if you treated her more like a human being and less like an object i wouldn't have to give her a ride to school!" mike countered, raising his voice slightly and clearly angry now. that snapped max out of her faraway daydream like a bucket of ice water. his words hit hard. did lucas really treat her like an object? she had to admit it rung true to the events of the past few days.

max stepped between the two before she could think to do anything else. "please, just stop?" she pleaded. her soft voice sounded distant even to her, and she was clearly still not recovered from the events of the past several hours. "luc, what's gotten into you?" she asked carefully, stepping toward him slightly and searching his face for a hint of the boy she loved. there was nothing.

"as if you fucking care" the boy muttered, storming off and leaving max staring after him with an apprehensive look on her face. as he disappeared from sight, she brought her attention to the rest of the party, who were standing in shock of what'd just happened. jane looked ready to kill mike, and dustin and will looked altogether confused and a little concerned. she turned back to mike, who was already approaching her.

"can i walk you to homeroom?" he muttered, urgency in his voice. "we need to talk"

---

max was trailing slightly behind mike on her way to homeroom, discomfort filling her as she tried to avoid the looks she was receiving for her sudden change of outfit and companion. she didn't appreciate the whispered comments that followed the unlikely pair, but she understood them. she knew that if she looked in the mirror, she'd barely recognise herself. mike was talking without seeming to have noticed. "max!" he said, turning to look at her. she snapped out of her thoughts and looked up quickly.

"yeah?"

"i was saying that i'm not sure you should go home tonight, you can stay at mine again if you need," he told her, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it. for a moment all she wanted was to accept his offer, craving the undeniable safety and comfort his presence brought her. but she knew that wasn't reality. instead, she shook her head, looking up.

"i think it may be best for the both of us to forget this ever happened" she said quietly, avoiding eye contact. mike opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off before he could even speak. "please?" she asked, vulnerability evident. and just like that, she watched his worried expression harden into a glare and her heart sunk.

"whatever, mayfield," he muttered, turning on his heel and stalking away in the opposite direction. she sighed. she had a lot of damage control to do.

A/N: last fully prewritten chapter for those of u who asked for an update!!