Feelings, Max Mayfield ¹ ✓

xx. shopping spree

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The bus ride was only ten minutes, but Liz thought it felt longer because of how excited she was. She had never gone to the mall with El before and was very excited to show her around and help her forget about whatever Mike had done, which was apparently lie to her about his grandma being sick. Liz was fully prepared to let El go wherever she wanted in the mall and she was surprised when she realized El had never been to the new mall. Liz was also surprised when she realized she had never hung out with Max and El at the same time, in fact, lately, El only hung out with Mike.

When the bus stopped, the three girls hurried off. The large, yellowish building of Starcourt was in front of them and people were shuffling in and out of the building. The parking lot was filled with cars and the bike racks filled with bikes. Max turned to El immediately, "So, what do you think?"

"Isn't it awesome?" Liz adds, looking up at the large building which was always full of people coming and going from it.

Liz and Max shared a smile of excitement and watched El to see her reaction. Liz's face fell when she saw El with no smile or look of excitement but a look of worry and fear instead. Max was the one to ask, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Too many people," El explained. "Against the rules."

"Seriously?" Max scoffed. Liz understood where she was coming from and she knew that Hopper and Mike wouldn't like it but El never got to act like a normal teenager. Liz knew that what Hopper and Mike didn't know wouldn't hurt them. "You have superpowers! What's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't know," El mumbles, still feeling uneasy about the situation.

Liz moves and stands in front of El. She puts her hands on El's shoulders and looks directly into her eyes, "Hopper will never find out. Mike will never find out. You are always following the rules, you deserve to have a day off to have fun!"

El took a deep breath, looking up at the mall again and the bright, neon sign before smiling. Liz smiled back as El nodded at her. Max and Liz squealed before pulling El into the mall. Starcourt had two floors. The bottom one was half a food court and half a shopping area while the top had the movie theater and a couple other shops that weren't clothing stores.

They stopped in the food court sitting area that rested in the center of the mall on the first floor. Max and Liz watched as El stared in awe at her surroundings. There were teenagers in groups drinking Orange Julius's and holding shopping bags and adults who were eating their lunch in the food court. The smell of hot dogs from Hot Dog on a Stick wafted through the air and Liz made a mental note to get one before they left.

"So, what should we do first?" Max asks. Both girls look at El, waiting for an answer as she still stared in awe at all the shops. Max giggled at her reaction, "You've never been shopping before, have you?"

El shook her head as she continued looking. Max and Liz shared a smirk, "Well, you know what that means?"

"I guess we're just gonna have to try everything," Max shrugs. El smiled at the two girls. Liz looked around, trying to decide what they should show El first but Max beat her to it as she grabbed Liz and El's hands, pulling them in the direction of the Gap, "Come on!"

They enter the Gap which was one of the most popular clothing stores at the moment and started looking around. El was going from rack to rack, staring in awe at all the bright colors and different styles. Liz couldn't help but smile as El got excited about certain items. She and Max shared multiple looks every time El found something new and her eyes widened. Finally, El stopped and looked up at one of the mannequins on display. It was wearing a turquoise shirt that had a design that resembled paint splatters all over it, "You like that?"