𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛; byler

t w o

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when they reached the door max let go of will's hand, pulling the glass door with both her hands.

"sorry, this door is just a- ugh! it's a bitch." she groaned as she struggled to get it open, the door shaking and rattling against the frame but not opening.

"want me to help?" will offered, reaching forward slightly.

"no, no- there's just a specific way to twist the handle and- ugh! finally!" she finally managed to get it to the open, and stood to make sure it stayed that way.

"could you pass me that brick?" she asked, nodding towards a small white brick leaning against a wall. will hurried to drop his bag, grabbing the brick and putting it against the door to keep it open.

"thanks," max responded, stepping away, "and sorry about that. not the best welcome, i know- but i promise the rest of the place is much better."

will laughed awkwardly and mumbled something about it being totally fine.

 it wasn't that it was an awkward situation, it was just that will was awkward around kids his age: they didn't tend to like him very much... too quiet, too nerdy, too gay- it was always something. in his hometown of hawkins, indiana he didn't really have friends, sad as it sounded. actually, yeah, it didn't only sound sad- it was sad.

he just didn't fit in. never had.

another reason he was so happy to be away for the summer- a chance to meet new people, and he really wanted max to like him: it's just, he didn't know how to act to make sure of that so awkward was the only thing he could be.

max stepped inside the restaurant, and will grabbed his bag and hurried to follow.

it was a huge room with many tables, that had only three walls, open to the sea and the sitting area. it was almost like he hadn't stepped inside at all:  even two of the standing walls were covered by huge windows. the few open places were tastefully decorated with sea-shells, not tacky but actually really pretty. small speakers standing on each side of the room filled the space with light music, good vibrations, that fit with the feel of the place perfectly.

max kept walking, her flip-flops hitting the floor painfully loud. she crossed the room to a small door will hadn't even noticed in his initial scan of the room, and paused.

"you coming?" she asked, her voice echoing across the room. 

will turned slightly red, and crossed the room in a few swift steps- his sneakers not hitting the parquetry not quite as loudly as max's had: but to him it felt like it was the sound of an elephant marching.

finally he reached max, and she pushed the small door open.

the room hiding behind it held light blue walls,a couple of white couches and a small, tall, table, though only a small window let the sun inside.

on one of the bar stools besides the small table sat a brown haired girl, fidgeting with a rubric's cube. her short brown hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and her brown eyes said nothing but sweetness and warmth. she was dressed in an outfit identical to the one max was wearing, only her tag said "jane".