𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞: 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬
❝ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪᴛ's ᴄᴜᴛᴇ.❞
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐎𝐅 the school, plus perseus, watching maxine mayfield skate all round. persues was slowly becoming apart of the party, starting to sit with them at lunch and coming to their d&d campaigns. arlo couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face as she watched the fiery red head, seeing the concentration on her face. she was stood between percy and dustin, the latter of the two picking up on how arlo was looking at max. but he brushed it off as a thing that girls do with their friends. even though arlo had never looked at any of the boys that way.
"there's no way that's mad max." mike told his friends. arlo, dustin, and lucas all made sounds of disagreement.
"yeah. girls don't play video games." will reasoned, earning him a look from arlo.
"do i have a secret penis that no one's telling me about?" the harrington girl questioned, looking at percy with knitted eyebrows. the long haired boy just laughed.
"you're different, arlo. you don't do a lot of what other girls do." will quickly said, making the girl shrug slightly.
"and even if they did, you can't get 750,000 points on dig dug. it's impossible." mike quickly pointed out.
"but her name is max." lucas reminded.
"so what?" mike shot back.
"so, how many maxes do you know?" lucas asked.
"i don't know." the wheeler boy shrugged.
"zero. we literally know zero maxes, mike. except for her." arlo answered.
"she shows up at school the day after someone with her same name breaks our top score. i mean, you kidding me?" dustin said.
"wait, she even beat arlo's high score in gaplus?" percy questioned, earning a nod from the girl. "holy shit." percy mumbled.
"exactly. so she's gotta be mad max. she's gotta be." lucas agreed.
"how about we go and find out?" arlo suggested, her eyebrows raised as she looked over at the boys with a smile.
"what?" dustin and mike asked in unison. they both looked at the girl like she was crazy.
"we've been watching her every move since mr.clarke's class, guys. that's fucking creepy. she probably thinks we're stalkers now. so, i'm gonna go clear our name, and ask if she's mad max. cool? cool." arlo quickly explained as she walked around the fence that they were behind. she made a b-line to where max was, sparing a quick glance before she turned back around.
"arlo!" max exclaimed, using her foot to skid to a stop in front of the girl in question.
"max! hi!" arlo greeted, a smile on her face as she watched max kick her board up. she could feel the boys watching her, their a eyes burning holes into the back of her head. "i, uh, i was just coming to see if your first day is going good."
"as good as standing at the front of every class to introduce yourself can be." max answered, shrugging her shoulders. she looked over arlo's shoulder to see that they were being watched by the boys, all five of them quickly looking away. "you know those stalkers?"
arlo turned around to look at the boys, who were still trying to act like they weren't staring. "yeah. they're my best friends. sorry for them."
"it's just creepy. they've been stalking me since science class." max mumbled, tucking some stray hairs behind her ear.
"yeah, they're shy around new people. . ." arlo defended, her voice trailing off as she scratched her ear.
"i bet." max chuckled, looking down at the shorter girl. "i just realized something."
"oh, yeah? what's that?" arlo quizzed, tilting her head. max felt her stomach fill with butterflies at that, the space between her eyebrows furrowing from confusion.
"your name is charlotte but people call you arlo. why is that?" the mayfield girl answered.
"well arlo is in charlotte, so. . ." arlo explained, looking up at max with narrowed eyes. what was she getting at?
"yeah, but why not call you charlie?" max questioned, her eyebrows raised.
"uh, my family called me arlo after they adopted me. it just kinda stuck. plus, charlie is connected to some really bad memories that are related to bullying, so. . . i hate it." arlo explained, shrugging her shoulders as she did so. she realized she just told a girl she barely knew that she was adopted.
"that's fair." max nodded, starting to think of names that she could call the girl in front of her. she also thought about how arlo just told her she was adopted. "what about. . . letty? no. lottie? no, i know a lottie back in california. oh! i got it! cherry!"
"w - why cherry?" arlo asked.
"because it's cute. like you." max answered, making the harrington girl's cheeks heat up. max's freckled cheeks also became flushed when she realized what she said, her shoulders becoming tense. what if arlo reacted badly to that?
"thanks. you're not so bad yourself, max." arlo mumbled, pretending like she wasn't blushing like crazy. a smirk pulled at her lips as she watched the red on max's cheeks become darker, the taller girl's shoulders relaxing. they then heard the bell ring from inside the school, making arlo's mood drop. not only because she would have to stop talking to max, but she knew that her and will would be getting picked up in a few minutes.
"you wanna walk me to my locker, cherry?" max asked, a smile on her face as she put extra emphasis on the nickname she had given arlo.
"i probably won't be able to. i'm getting picked up in a few." arlo replied, her mood obviously deflating as she thought about stepping into the lab.
"oh." max let out, almost deflating in disappointment. she wanted to spend more time with the pretty girl in front of her. the only girl that's been nice to her since she stepped into the building. she had also wondered why she was being picked up early, but didn't ask. "well, how about you walk me to the door?"
"that, i can do." arlo nodded, forcing a smile on her face. she wanted to spend more time with the new girl.
the two walked over towards the door that led inside the building, silence falling atop of them like a blanket. as they walked, their arms brushed against one another's. arlo's cheeks starting to burn from how badly she was blushing at the feeling. when they had walked up the little bit of stairs that had led to the door, max had dug into her jacket pocket and pulled a piece of paper. she unfolded it, looking down at it to make sure that she it had said what she wanted. arlo looked around her arm, a chuckle escaping her lips when she had read what it said.
"stop spying on my, creeps." she read aloud, nodding her head. "yeah, that's not gonna change anything. but you can try."
"you think they'd dig in the trashcan?" max questioned, eying the trashcan that was below the stairs.
"oh, yeah, definitely." arlo laughed, knowing the five boys that she's grateful to call her best friends.
max nodded, folding the wrinkled piece of paper before she dropped it into the trash below. she then turned around to look at arlo, a genuine smile appearing on her lips. "thanks for keeping me company. i'll see you around, cherry." she said, starting to open the door.
"see you around, max." arlo smiled. the strawberry blonde spared arlo another glance, sending her a nod before she let the door close behind her. arlo let out a sigh, leaning back onto the railing.
"arlo!" dustin shouted from below. arlo flinched in her spot, bringing her hand up to her chest as she turned around to look down, seeing her boys. "what did she put on the note? did she let you read it?"
"uh, no." arlo lied, shaking her head as she raised her eyebrows. she watched as dustin threw himself into the trashcan without a second thought, a snort leaving her mouth as he did so. the boy got stares from a group of girls, lucas, will, percy, and mike all waving at them. arlo smiled, sending them a nod from her spot on the top of the stairs.
"got it. there we go." dustin announced, pulling himself out from the trashcan. he quickly unfolded the note while the rest of the boys crowded around him.
"stop spying on me, creeps" they all read in unison, arlo starting to silently laugh.
"well, shit." dustin cursed, only making arlo laugh harder.
"william byers. charlotte harrington." the vice principal called, making both will and arlo turn towards him. their moods immediately deflated, the both of them knowing what time it was. "william's mother is here to pick the both of you up."
will and arlo shared a knowing look before they turned back to the vice principal. the three of them went into the school, bidding goodbye to the boys. the two kids received looks from other students as they walked down the hall with the vice principal trailing behind them. will was the one receiving all of the looks because of the events that happened last year. arlo noticed that max was at her locker, the red head already looking at her as she placed her skateboard into her locker. arlo waved, max waving back with a smile. will and arlo quickly grabbed their belongings from their lockers before they walked to the front of the school. they saw joyce byers leaning on her car, a cigarette between two fingers as she waited for them to come out. as soon as she saw them, a bright smile appeared on her face. she waved at them as they came down the stairs, arlo forcing a smile. as they walked towards the car, arlo could feel the stares of her friends, making her turn her head and see them watching them from the side of the building.
lucas saw the girl looking at them, holding up a thumbs up as a way to ask if she was okay. the harrington girl discreetly held a thumbs up, nodding her head before she turned forward. all of the boys looked at each other, knowing how the girl was feeling. the only person that was slightly confused was percy. he knew will would go see someone every week to help with his trauma from vanishing last year - that's what the party told him at least. but he didn't understand why arlo was going. he never asked, knowing that it was a touchy subject for all of them.
"hi, sweetie. how was school?" joyce greeted once the two kids had gotten to the car. she had started to walk around the car, not picking up on the sad look on will's face.
"it was okay." will shrugged, pulling the passenger seat up so that arlo would be able to get in the back. "there's a new girl. she's from california." once arlo was in, will pushed the passenger seat back, getting inside and shutting the door.
"california? that's cool, right?" joyce quizzed once she was in the driver's seat, having dropped her cigarette to the ground and stepping it out.
"i guess." will mumbled, pulling his seatbelt on.
joyce sighed, picking up on the mood that her son was in. she understood why. she knew it was because he had to go to the lab, but she didn't say anything. she started the car, looking through the rearview mirror at arlo. "how about you, arlo? how was school?"
"it was good. the new girl that he's talking about? i talked to her. she seems cool. i've only known her for a day, so. . ." arlo answered while she pulled her seatbelt on. joyce picked up on the smile that made its way onto arlo's face at the mention of this new girl, going to ask her about that later.
"well, that's great." joyce smiled, pulling away from the school. arlo nodded in agreement, leaning into the cushions of the seat.
silence fell over them as they started the drive to the lab. and with that, arlo dug around her bag for her walkman, perking up when her finger tips skimmed over it. she went to grab it, slowly pulling it out from her bag. she placed the headphones over her ears as she dug around her bag for cassettes. she pulled out a mixtape, smiling when she realized which one it was. it was one that apollo had given her, the older boy telling her that he could make her mixtapes anytime she wanted a new one. she stared out the window the whole duration of the ride, her hands gently slapping against her thigh to the beat of the songs she listened to.
they had arrived to the lab quicker than arlo and will had wanted to, parking right next to chief jim hopper. he was leaning on the back of his truck, smoking a cigarette as he patiently waited for them to arrive. as all of them got out of joyce's car, arlo paused her walkman and pulled her headphones down. they walked over to where hopper was, the man sending the two kids small smiles.
"hey, buddy." hopper greeted, his eyes one will.
"hey." will smiled, stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket.
"hey." joyce repeated as they continued to walk towards the lab.
hopper joined arlo's side, looking down at her to make sure she was okay. "hey, kid. how have you been? anything change with the nightmares?"
arlo shrugged. "they're the same. i don't really remember them, but i know that i have them."
"what about the scars? do they still hurt?" hopper quizzed.
"sometimes. mostly when it rains because of the change in pressure and all that junk." arlo answered. she loved when it rained, but now that the three scars on her side would ache, sometimes she wishes that it wouldn't rain at all. "and sometimes when i just woke up from a nightmare, they'd hurt. i don't know why."
hopper nodded understandingly, looking down at the girl with worry. over the last year, he had been looking over the harrington siblings whenever their parents weren't home. so. . . frequently. he would bring them food, since steve didn't know what foods to get. he would try to have dinner with them at least once a month, just to check up on them. he had a secret love for all of the kids that were apart of the party, but he felt like arlo and her brother needed more. it had became easier to deal with a teenager going into adulthood, and a kid that had just gotten into her teen years. he's had some practice since he's been taken care of a certain telekinetic girl for a year. but, no one knows about that just yet.
"well, you guys know the drill. joyce'll go with will, i'll go with arlo, make sure they're not trying nothing. and you guys just be honest with them." hopper told everyone as they stepped through the door of the lab. "we'll be in and out in no time."
"in and out." arlo mumbled, nodding her head.
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daij speaks!
no because it's only the second chapter of max and arlo interacting and i already love them. and max calling arlo cherry warms my fucking heart. #marlo. but let's all welcome percy to the party guys. idk if i should just let him be a character or give him a love interest. i was kinda thinking will or lucas.
but i hope u guys enjoyed this chapter 🫶🏼