Max's pov
We decided to get up at 10 am to get ready. I took a shower and then when I finished El took one as well. I was brushing my hair, lost in my thoughts. Robin took me to el's cabin to bring our swimsuits since we didn't plan to bring them before the sleepover. I put it on and looked at myself in the mirror. The bruises weren't so visible but you could still see them a bit. Suddenly the door opened. It was El. She got back from the shower,wearing a towel. I immediately took a clothing from the bed next to me to cover myself. (we were in Mike's room by the way, the boys were in the basement, they left us here to change, for privacy ofc). "oh um-sorry if I made you uncomfortable I can leave-" El said nervously about to leave the room. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back in the room. "no-it's fine i was just surprised" I said smiling. I accidentally looked at her up and down. She smirked and giggled. I realised that I was starting and got nervous. "shit.. sorry" I whispered. She laughed as I was blushing hard. "maxiee, it's okay, you're my girlfriend you can look at me I don't mind" El said. "I-I know I just don't wanna make you uncomfortable-" I said. "you don't make me uncomfortable, okay?" she said. I exhaled nervously and nodded. She gave me a kiss. It was short. "do I make you uncomfortable?" she asked softly. "what? No, not at all, why?" I said. "just asking" she said. I nodded. She looked down at my body since I uncovered myself. "yeah-I'm just trying on the bikini" I said. She looked up at me, not buying the lie. "do they hurt?" she asked. "what?" I said confused. "the bruises" she said. "oh-no they don't hurt anymore, you can still see them though" I said. "yeah a bit, but barely" she said looking at my body again. She then frowned. "what?" I asked. She pointed at the scar on my stomach. Well shit. I thought. "oh" I whispered. "did Neil do this too? Or just the bruises?" she asked. I knew she would see it anyways so there was no point in lying. "no, this one it's not from Neil, it's-from me" I said looking down embarrassed. She looked up at me sadly and confused at the same time. "maxie..why?"she asked. I shrugged." I-I don't know, it was just a time when things were so bad at home and I did that to myself, I regretted it after and stopped immediately" I said nervously. "thank god, what stopped you?" she asked. "oh, um, I thought about you and the others and I felt like I'm worth in living and stopped" I said. "oh" that's all she managed to say. She hugged me tightly. "can you please don't do it again? For me? For yourself and the others, I care about you a lot and I.. I love you" she said. I pulled away. "okay.. I'll never do it again"i said." promise? " she said." promise "I replied." and I love you too"i said smiling. She smiled back. "that bikini looks good on you" she said. I blushed. "thank you" I said. "I'll go change and put on the swimsuit you gave me, I forgot that I'm still wearing a towel oops" she said giggling. "okay, ill-ill go in the bathroom and tell me when you're ready" I said smiling. "okay" she replied giving me a quick kiss and i left. I went downstairs. The others were eating,as usual. I put on clothes on, the swimsuit underneath them. I sat down. I wad still blushing but didn't realise. "max, you're red, are you alright" Dustin asked. "she's blushing" lucas said laughing. "it's probably a gay panic guys don't worry about it, it's normal" Robin mocked. I gave her a death stare and poked her shoulder. "ow! I'm kidding" she said. The others laughed at Robin's joke as well. I rolled my eyes. "don't act like you don't blush whenever will is around you mikey" I said mocking Mike since he was laughing. He stopped laughing immediately. "no-no I'm not" he said embarrassed. "yes you do" lucas and Dustin said at the same time with a smile. Will was blushing too, so did Mike. "awww you guys are adorable" Robin said. "yay, I'm the only single one" lucas joked. "nope you're not the only one" Robin said high-fiving him. Me and the others laughed. "Steve's single too right?" Mike asked curious. "didn't get go on a date yesterday?" lucas asked. "he did, but didn't work, as usual" Robin said. "I think he's still in love with your sister but doesn't admit it" Robin whispered leaning close to Mike especially. Mike's eyes wided open. "oh hell nah, Nancy's with Jonathan" Mike said with a frown. "yeah we're aware, I'm just saying" Robin said defendingly. "just the facts" I said. Everyone looked at me. "what? Am I lying?" I said. "see? I'm not the only one who thinks that" Robin said. "why are you copying Erica's quote" Dustin asked. I was confused. "what?" I asked. "nothing" dustin said slightly laughing. "yeah whatever, Nancy does what she wants I don't really care" Mike said biting his toast. "you don't care? You cared when Keith wanted Mike years ago" lucas said raising an eyebrow. "well yeah, I'm not letting Keith date my sister, ew" Mike said. We all laughed. "but you let Steve" Robin smirked. Mike rolled his eyes. "dude, Steve or Jonathan I don't care whatever she wants" Mike said. "alright then" Robin said. "max!" I heard El yelling from upstairs. "yeah?" I said. "can you come upstairs please" El said. "okay I said." your girl is asking you" Robin said smirking. I just laughed along. "yeah yeah whatever you can smirk i don't care anymore" I joked. She giggled. I went upstairs. I knocked on the door. "can I come in?" I asked. "yes" she replied. I saw her wearing the bottom part of the swimsuit, covering the top one with a shirt. "what's wrong?" I asked. "um-I need help with the top part please" El said shyly. I giggled. "yeah sure" I said. "do you need help tying it? " I asked. She nodded. "alright, um put on it on and hold it, I'll turn around if you want" I said blushing. She nodded. I looked away for a second until she was ready. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, you know to look. "alright I'm ready" she said. I tied it. "here, done" I said smiling. "thanks" she replied blushing lightly. I looked down at her beautiful body. The swimsuit looked amazing on her, fitted her body perfectly. "wow.. You look amazing Ellie" I said. "t-thanks, you too" she said blushing. We were both blushing. We were both just staring at each other, admiring each other basically. "can I brush your hair?" I asked excitedly breaking the silence, not an uncomfortable one though. "yeah, they still wet though" she said. "ill bring a hair dryer, ill ask Nancy if we can borrow hers" I said. "alright" she said. I walked into Nancy's room and knocked. She let me in. "oh, hey max, what do you want?" she asked smiling. "hey sorry to bother you, can I borrow your hair dryer please" I asked shyly. "oh yeah sure" she said. She got up to get it and gave it to me. "thanks" I said and she nodded. I got back to Mike's room where El was. "alright, sit down" I said. She did as told. Before I could start she looked up at me, I was behind her. She smiled at me and kissed me, like an upside down kiss. It was a weird kiss but I liked it. She giggled and I started drying her soft short curly brown hair. Once her hair was dry I started brushing them., "you know I could do it myself" El said smirking and giggled. I smiled. "yeah, well, I wanted to do it" I replied. Another thing we like doing is playing with each other's hair. Once I finished I looked at her in the mirror. She looks amazing like always. "here you go my'lady" I said with a funny accent. She laughed. "thank you darling" she said copying me and matching the energy. I gave her my hand and pulled her up. "okay, we should go before the boys come and yell at us again for not being ready" I said smiling. "okay, wait-can I brush your hair as well?" she said excitedly. "I would love to but I already brushed them" I said. "oh.. you know I like doing it" she said. I giggled. "sorry Ellie, next time" I said. She smiled. I gave her a kiss and got back downstairs. "finally" Mike said.
El's pov
Max stayed with the boys in the living room, who were playing in cards until we get ready. Dustin wasn't with us. He biked at his home to bring something called 'goggles', he says its glasses you were under the water. So we waited for him to come back. "max, I'll go drink some water" I said. Max nodded. I got in the kitchen to find Robin standing there just drinking an energy drink. She looked, lost in her thoughts. I walked up to her. "hey" I said. "oh-hey El" she said. "are you okay?" I asked worried. I put my hand on her shoulder. "oh, yeah" she said smiling. I knew she was lying. "Robin, friends don't lie" I said. She looked at me for a second and sighed sadly. "I-I just miss someone-dont worry about it" Robin said. "who?" I asked. "my ex girlfriend" she said. "oh, do you wanna talk about it" I asked. She nodded. She told me about her story about her ex girlfriend, how they broke up and everything (if you remember in chapter 26 when Robin talked to max about her life). "and yeah, I just thought I got over her but I guess I don't, I miss her" she said sadly. "sorry for wasting your time-" I cut her off by hugging her. "no, don't say that, I'm here for you, just like you always do, okay? You're like a big sister to me that I never had" I said smiling. She looked at me in awe, probably happy and emotional. "yeah I agree, that's-so cute, I never had a sister and of course you're like my little sister, I like it" Robin said smiling. I laughed. "yeah" I said. We hugged for about a minute. She pulled away. "alright brownie time to go back to the others before max comes and check on us, I don't want her to worry about me, just a silly me" she said giggling. "okay we should, and you're not silly" I said. She nodded. I paused. "brownie? Again, seriously?" I asked frowning and chuckled. That's the nickname she gave me. Classic Robin you know. I just laughed and went back. I saw the boys playing cards while Will was showing max something on the magazine. I messed Will's hair to annoy him for fun." hey will the wise, don't steal my girlfriend" I joked as I jumped above the couch and sat next to max. "I'm gay" will said giggling. "she's joking" lucas said laughing. "yeah I know" will said back. Max just laughed and pulled me on her lap and hugged me. "relax baby, I'm only yours" she whispered in my ear. I know she understood that I was joking but she wanted to say it. I got chills and blushed. "only mine" I whispered giggling. Suddenly lucas slapped the table angrily. I flinched and jumped slightly. He scared me. "jeez lucas you scared my Teddy bear" max said. When I heard the loud bang I turned around quickly. I giggled at max's comment. "ew max, stop with the nicknames" Mike said. "why? You calling will puppy" I mocked him. "it's because he sneezes like a puppy" Mike said laughing. "well, El is like a little teddy bear who gives the best hugs" I said back. "that's cute" lucas said. "all of you" he finished. We all smiled at him. "we need to find lucas a girlfriend asap" will joked. "yeah I think it's time you move on from max bro" Mike joked. Lucas threw a pillow at him annoyed.
Max's pov
"yeah, move on, you'll find a girl" El said innocently. "not better than mine though" El said. Damn she's so cute. Everyone laughed at the joke."no but like, seriously lucas, you should find a girl that treats you right and you'll treat her right" El said. "yeah, definitely someone better than I did" I said. "yeah, but, that was different max, it's fine, don't worry, I understand" lucas said smiling. "yeah but I still hurt your feelings" I said. "it's alright" lucas said.
El's pov
I felt a bit jealous I don't know why. I guess I'm just scared, what if she still likes him. Also, that memory when lucas kissed her didn't get off my mind. I think lucas still wants her and I'm mad about it but I feel bad for him at the same time. I just hope max doesn't get back with him. Max must have sensed it and put her hands around my weist while I was still on her lap,hugging me. I love when she huggs me from the weist. It always gives me butterflies. Dustin came back. "dude, what took you so long it's been half an hour, your house is only 5 minutes away" lucas said annoyed. "yeah well I couldn't find them" Dustin said. "well, did you?" Mike asked. "yeah duh" Dustin said. Mike rolled his eyes. Dustin pulled the goggles out to show us."okay I only found 2 pairs so we're gonna have to share" Dustin said. "it's fine" the boys said. I freezed when I saw them. I know realise what goggles were. Those pair of glassed they put me when I got into the bathtub years ago, in the lab.
Max's pov
I saw El frozen as soon as she saw the goggles. I shook her worried. "El? El are you okay" I asked worried. "yeah" she said quietly. "are you sure?" I asked again. The others were as confused as me. "oh.." Mike whispered. "oh?" I asked confused. "it's, um, bad memories from years ago" Mike said. The boys looked at each other. "oh, yeah" Dustin and lucas whispered. "is there something I don't know?" I asked. "hey, I'm not a child, it's just goggles papa used to make me wear to spy on people in the bathtub that's it" El said a bit mad. "El, sorry" we all said at the same time. "it's fine, don't worry about it" El said. We nodded. I took her hand and squeezed it. She gave me a week smile.
*time skip, at the pool*
Still max's pov
We finally arrived at the pool. Robin insisted to stay with us, even though we told her not to. We sat down next to the pool. It was the time I've been fearing. To take off my clothes. "hey,max, its fine if you don't want to" El said obviously seeing my nervous expression. "it's fine, I'll do it, I want to have fun" I said trying to act cool. She nodded. I slowly took them off. I exhaled a breath I must have been holding without realizing it. El then took off hers as well. She smiled at me proudly. I decided to just try and forget. I just want to have fun with my friends and forget about Neil and what he's done to my body. I leaned down to take the sunscreen from the bag. El looked confused. "this is sunscreen, you put it on your skin so you don't get burnt" I said. "you apply it on your skin, hands legs, face, wherever you want and need to" I said applying some on my arms. "so everyone puts this on their body for protection?" she asked. "yeah, especially for sensitive skin like mine, cause I'm a ginger but yeah" I said giggling. "it depends though it might not work" I said. "what if it doesn't work?" she asked a bit scared. I giggled. "nothing it just hurts a bit, burns basically but you just put on cream and stuff, it's normal lots of people get burn" I said. She nodded understanding. She then put on some on her skin copying me. After a few minutes El decided to get in. I didn't want to presure her to get in. I gave her time. We got in. "see it's not that bad right?" I said smiling at her, showing her that's she's safe. She smiled back, I could still feel that she's scared and it's reasonable. The boys started jumping in the water splashing us. "oh god" I groaned annoyed. And splash water at Mike when he jumped in the water. "wanna jump, like what the boys did?" I asked El. She hesitated. "we'll jump together if you want, I'll hold you" I said. She nodded. "you sure?" I asked again, making sure she wants to. "yes, I'm sure, I want to try it, it looks fun" El said smiling. We got out of the water. The boys were cheering us up encouraging El. There were so many kids in the pool, but we had some space to jump. I picked her up and held her tightly. "alright, 3, 2, 1" i counted down and jumped. We got out of the water,still holding her. She was a bit scared but happy. She started smiling, I hope she likes it. And she did. "that was so cool" el said. "I told you you would like it" I said smiling at her. We suddenly heard a boy yelling something at us. "faggots" he said laughing with his friends. "shut up you did we ask you to speak, leave us alone we don't care" I said. I didn't want to start a fight or something just defended me and El. I turned around like nothing happened. "hey, you kids, cut it" we heard the life guard. I felt everyone staring at us. We listened and stopped. The boy just walked away and continued having fun with his friends. I was still holding El. "thanks" El said. "of course" I said smiling at her.
Mike's pov
After the scene when some boys were laughing about El and max, I got back to the boys. "hey will" i said. He turned around. "yeah?" he said. "wanna go buy some ice cream?" I asked. "yeah sure" will said. We got our of the pool holding hands. Then we heard a familiar voice calling my name. It was.. my mom. What is she doing here. I realised she saw us holding hands. This is not going to end up well, I thought.
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