ElMax/Henclair OneShots (Elmax Manly)

Isn't That How You Say Goodbye? stanleyvris

The party was lounging around in Mike’s basement for the third day in a row. They had retreated to the coolness of the basement after a day of the summer heat beating down on their skin. Dustin and Lucas were sitting hunched over the table, working out what the next D&D campaign would involve. Mike and Will were sitting on the bottom two steps, leaning against the railing. They had been rifling through a box of cassettes for the last half hour, trying to find the perfect songs to play as the backing track to their dungeons and dragons game nights. El was seated in her blanket fort and was flicking through The BFG by Roald Dahl, her face scrunching up every time she came across an unfamiliar word. Max sat away from the rest of the group on the couch, her legs crossed and her skateboard resting on her lap. She was drumming on her skateboard subconsciously, zoned out completely to her surroundings, when a small voice broke through her daze.

“Max?” came a quiet voice. Max nearly jumped when she heard it, and turned to see who it came from. Her eyes landed on Eleven, who was peeking out from inside her blanket fort.

“Yeah?” replied Max.

“Can you come here please,” said El.

“Into the fort?” questioned Max. Eleven nodded and Max slowly put down her skateboard before walking across the room to the fort.

Max looked down at the fort, unsure as to how she could fit in beside Eleven, it was very small and would make for a tight fit if two people were to sit in it. Eleven shuffled to the side to make room for Max, who knelt down and crawled in beside her.

“What is it?” asked Max, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging her legs.

“What does this mean?” questioned Eleven, pointing at a spot on the page. Max followed the aim of Eleven’s finger and saw the word she was pointing at.

“Oh, you mean ecstasy,” said Max, “well… it’s basically when you’re feeling completely overjoyed”.

“Like really, really happy?” replied Eleven.

“Yeah, basically,” smiled Max. It wouldn’t seem like it but Max loved literature, and was always glad to help someone with words.

“Thanks Max,” said Eleven smiling back at Max.

The two sat in silence as Eleven began reading again, her eyes slowly scanning the pages. Max remained beside her, cooped up in the blanket fort. Slowly, their breathing fell into sync. A wave of calm fell over the two girls as they sat side by side, each lost in their own worlds. It didn’t take very long for Max to zone back out, and for Eleven to zone in on her book. The fort being small didn’t seem to be a problem anymore.

--

It had been three days since Max had helped Eleven with her vocabulary. The party was getting back together for an evening in Mike’s basement. Max was greeted by Nancy, who was on her way out to see Jonathan.

“Hey Max,” said Nancy, smiling awkwardly at her.

“Hey Nancy. Are you staying for movie night?” asked Max. The previous movie night saw Jonathan, Steve and Nancy joining the party in the basement to watch along with them.

“Not today, I’m off to meet Jonathan at the park,” replied Nancy as she shrugged on her coat, squeezing out the door past Max. Max raised her hand and waved as Nancy walked away from the house.