𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞: 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬
❝ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪsᴋ?❞
𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 living room, a bowl of cereal in her hands as she stared at whatever played on the tv. she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, which made the bags under her eyes darker. she still felt shitty because of what happened on the field, but she had gotten used to it at that point in time, which still sucked. it was like something inside of her wasn't. . . her, it was the shadow monster. the mind flayer. but it's not growing or shrinking. it's like her own shadow powers contained the mind flayer's shadow powers. her mind had wandered over to max throughout the night, trying to figure out how she was gonna apologize. max didn't seem like the type to forgive easily, which gave arlo two options; tell her the truth about everything or do a big grand gesture. max also doesn't seem like the type to forgive because of a big grand gesture. arlo groaned as she got up from the couch.
"what's got you groaning?" the voice of steve questioned, the older harrington coming down the stairs already dressed. which was weird since it was saturday and he usually slept in.
"max is mad at me because she thinks that i don't want to be her friend." arlo mumbled as she poured some more cereal into her bowl.
steve's eyebrows raised at the response, not expecting to hear the mayfield girl's name come out of his sister's mouth. arlo made sure that she didn't have any friends who were girls. she said that she didn't want to deal with all of the makeovers, dresses, and drama over boys. plus, all of the girls weren't interested in what she was interest. she'd rather read comic books and play video games than spend hours doing makeup. and i know as the author i am making her sound like one of those pick me girls in those stupid movies that would rather be with boys, but i didn't know how else to describe her. steve looked at her sister closely, seeing that this was really bothering her. he had figured out that arlo had developed some type of feelings for this max girl when max had biked arlo home the other day. but seeing how arlo was acting only confirmed it.
"do you. . . like this girl, lo?" steve asked as he sat down at the kitchen island. his voice was soft, not wanting it to seem like he was disgusted by the girl in front of him. because he wasn't.
"what? yeah, obviously." arlo replied, her cheeks heating up as nerves started to crawl up her spine.
steve noticed this, tilting his head slightly. "no, i mean like like. do you like her enough to want to be with her romantically?" he elaborated.
arlo didn't answer for a few seconds, moving the cereal around with her spoon. she looked back up at her brother, knowing that the both of them were raised being taught that girls liking girls and boys liking boys was a sin and was wrong. the whole town of hawkins were raised like that. which was why her heart was pounding against her ribcage, begging to be let out. "is - is that alright?"
steve smiled slightly, nodding slightly. "why wouldn't that be alright, lo?"
"because everyone makes it seems like it's gross and. . . i mean, i've been bullied for that since forever. apollo's father kicked him out because of that, and i just didn't want you to hate me." arlo started to list, her voice cracking as she started to tear up.
"hey, hey, hey." steve interrupted, getting up from his seat and walking over to his sister. he pulled her into a hug in an attempt to calm her down. "there is nothing you can do or say to ever make me hate you, okay? you're my little sister. you can do no wrong in my eyes." he told her, earning a watery chuckle from the younger girl.
"thanks, steve." arlo said, it being muffled since her face was stuffed into his chest.
"of course." steve smiled, pulling away slightly. he ruffled her hair, earning a groan from her.
"so why are you up? it's saturday. you're usually still snoring with your hair sticking up in every direction." arlo asked as the both of them pulled away.
"i'm going to get nancy back." steve replied as he opened the fridge, almost like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"you want to get nancy back?" arlo questioned, her eyebrows furrowing together as she turned to look at her brother.
"yeah. what? you don't think i should?" steve quizzed, turning to look at her with a bottle of orange juice in his hand.
"i mean, she did say that you guys were. . . bullshit." arlo reminded, wincing slightly as she watched steve closely. "and she might've been drunk but a drunk mind speaks a sober heart, steve. and you told me that she couldn't even tell you she loved you the other day. i - i don't mean to put salt on the wound or anything, but i just don't want you to get hurt again."
"yeah, but what if apologize and we work through it, huh?" steve challenged, opening the orange juice bottle before he took a swig from it. arlo didn't reply, looking at her brother with sad eyes. "anyways, we're not talking about my shit, we're talking about your shit. what're you gonna do to make max forgive you?" steve then asked through the liquid in his mouth.
"i don't know." arlo mumbled.
"arlo!" the voice of lucas appeared from outside. this made both of the harrington siblings look at one another with furrowed eyebrows before they turned to look towards the front door. the doorbell then echoed throughout the house. "arlo! come on! charlotte harrington! you told me that max was mad at you, so i came up with a plan! but we need to go, like, right now!" lucas yelled from outside. arlo went to open the door, her eyebrows raising when she saw that the sinclair boy was sweaty. "were you sleep or something?"
"does it look like i was sleeping?" arlo shot back, tilting her head slightly.
lucas examined her face, picking up on how her bags had gotten worse. "no. but go get dressed. we have to beat max to the arcade if this is gonna work."
"now?"
"now, arlo! go!" lucas nodded. the shorter girl groaned but did as told, turning around and going up the stairs. lucas stepped into the house, closing the door behind him while steve stepped out of the kitchen. "where are you going? you're usually still sleeping."
"to go get nancy back." steve answered, a proud smile on his face.
"do you think that's a good idea?" lucas questioned, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. this made steve's smile drop, the harrington boy rolling his eyes as he grabbed his jacket and keys.
"tell lo that i left." he mumbled to lucas as he walked out the door. lucas simply nodded, rocking back and forth on his feet as he waited for arlo to come back down.
"you ready?" the brunette asked as she descended down the stairs. lucas turned to see that she had on a pair of jeans, dirty white converse, and a shirt that looked oddly familiar.
"is that my shirt?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he pointed to the shirt that arlo was wearing.
"don't be surprised. i have shirts from all of you." arlo replied, reaching for the thin zip up sweater she wore yesterday. "so what is this plan of yours, luke?" she asked as she slipped the sweater on.
lucas opened the door so that arlo could leave first, following after the girl before he had closed the door. "okay, so, i was thinking that we somehow bribe keith into unplugging the dig dug game and putting an out of order sign on it, right? and when max comes in, he tells her to go to the back, which is gonna sound extremely weird and creepy, but yeah. and waiting for her in the backroom is you." he explained as he picked up his back from the ground.
"okay, but what am i gonna say to her?" arlo questioned, picking her bike up from the ground as well before she swung her leg over the seat.
"apologize, obviously. but then. . . you tell her everything that happened last year." lucas answered as he swung his leg over his seat.
arlo hummed, nodding her head slightly. "why do i have to do this? she's mad at not only me, but you and dustin, too."
"because you're closer to her than we are. which is weird for you, since you try not to interact with girls. but. . . i know you care about her, arlo. and it's obviously bothering you, so you should be the one to tell her." lucas explained. "now, come on."
with that, the duo took off down the street and towards the arcade.
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𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐗𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 for in the backroom, her leg bouncing up and down. her walkman was clipped to the pocket of her jeans and her headphones were on her ears. she hummed along to the song that was playing, which was uptown girl by billy joel. lucas had made them stop for a bag of cheese puffs to bribe keith with, making sure that it's a big bag. and once they had gotten there, lucas had showed the bag to keith -- he might've promised that they would get him a date with nancy, told him what they needed him to do, and then gave the bag to keith. the older boy let arlo into the backroom, locking her there while lucas wandered around the arcade. the boy had his supercomm and had brought arlo's so that the two could communicate with one another as they waited.
"she's here." arlo heard come from her walkie, making her pause her music and look over at it. "i repeat, she is here!"
"copy that." arlo mumbled into the walkie before she pushed her antenna down. she pulled her headphones away from her ears as she turned to the door. she felt nerves climb up her spine as the door opened, revealing keith and max. the strawberry blonde felt her heart leap into her throat at the sight of arlo but she kept that hidden, glaring at the shorter girl.
"you better get me that date now, harrington." keith told arlo once max was inside the room.
"i told you i would." arlo reminded, rolling her eyes at the older boy. he quickly made a noise, interrupting her as he held up his hand.
"and keep it pg in here, all right? no cat fights or anything." keith told the two before he looked at max, sending her a wink. he then walked out, closing the door behind him.
"what is this shit, arlo?" max questioned, turning to look at the exhausted girl. she could see that the bags under arlo's eyes had gotten worse, making her chest ache.
arlo felt her own chest ache when max had called her by her actual name instead of the one that she had given her. she got up from the stool, a small frown on her face. "i'm sorry. i just needed a safe place."
"a safe place to what? be creepy?" max quizzed.
"to explain everything that happened last year. but if anyone finds out, you could be arrested. . . possibly killed." arlo told her.
"killed?" max repeated, looking down at the girl with raised eyebrows.
"i need to know if you accept the risk." arlo mumbled, knowing that it was gonna be hard to convince the red head.
"oh, my god! this - this is so stupid." max complained, turning around as she threw her head back. she then turned back to look at arlo.
"do you accept the risk?" arlo asked, making her voice stern to let max know that this was serious.
the taller girl let out a sigh, seeing that arlo was being serious. "yeah. sure. fine. i accept the risk." she nodded, dropping her board to the ground before she sat down in a chair. arlo followed pursuit, sitting down on the stool. "let's hear it."
"last year. . . will didn't get lost in the woods. he got lost somewhere else." arlo started, making max furrow her eyebrows. max listened to arlo carefully, liking the way that the harrington girl was telling the story. almost an hour later, arlo was still explaining what had happened last year; the demogorgan, eleven and her powers, how arlo had figured out that she had powers, the upside down, the lab, the bad men, the three scars on that stretched from the bottom of her stomach to her side. "and that was the last we ever saw of her. after that, she was just gone. it's crazy how long it's been. it honestly feels like yesterday." arlo finished, subconsciously bringing her hand up to the side when she felt her scars start to ache.
"yeah. i mean, i bet. wow." max mumbled, nodding her head.
"it's crazy. i know." arlo said.
"it's crazy, but. . . i really liked it." max admitted, making arlo furrow her eyebrows.
"liked it?" the shorter girl repeated, tilting her head in confusion.
"yeah." max answered, biting back a smile as she thought about how adorable arlo looked in that moment. "well, i mean, i had a few issues."
"issues?"
"i just felt it was a little derivative in parts."
"what are you talking about?"
"i just wish it had a little more originality. that's all." max shrugged.
"you don't believe me?" arlo questioned.
"cherry, come on, seriously? how gullible do you think i am?" max quizzed.
"why would i make this up?" arlo challenged, obviously getting frustrated with the whole situation. i mean, she risked her life -- her friends and brother's lives just to tell the girl that she had feelings for the truth.
"i don't know. to impress me or something. or you're just, like, insane." max replied.
"i tell you all of this. i mean, top-secret stuff. shit that i was supposed to take to the fucking grave. risking my life. and this is how you react?" arlo said as she stood up from the stool.
"risking your life?" max repeated, a small smile on her lips.
"oh, so this is funny to you?" arlo asked, noticing the smile that usually made her feel better.
"yeah. i mean. . . kinda funny. stupid, but funny." max answered, standing up from her seat.
arlo shook her head slightly, turning around to grab her bag from the floor. she was too exhausted to be dealing with this. i mean, she should've been worrying about will or dart anyways. "fine, don't believe me. i don't care anymore." she mumbled as she placed her bag on her back and pulled her headphones over her ears. she pressed play on her walkman before walking out of the room.
she sent a nod to keith as he lifted up the hatch to let her go through, seeing lucas at the front of the arcade. the sinclair boy was getting ready to walk over to her, but he stopped when he noticed max following arlo. he leaned back onto the window, deciding to watch the scene unfold instead of getting involved. max ran up to arlo, her board in her hand as she called out for the latina. she groaned when, picking up her pace so that she could grab her. and when she did, she gently pulled down arlo's headphones so that the shorter girl could hear her.
"why are you mad at me? i should be the one that's mad." max asked her, her eyebrows raised.
"because i gave you what you wanted and you decide that it's funny." arlo responded, going to walk around max. but the mayfield girl quickly stepped in front of her, not wanting the girl to go.
"i wanted to be apart of the party, not some apart of some joke." max corrected, her eyebrows going down into a furrow as she looked at arlo.
"but it's not a joke." arlo snapped, her exhaustion and frustration getting the best of her. she sighed, ignoring the looks that she was receiving from the other kids in the arcade. she brought her hands up to her face before she dragged them down. "look, we have a lot of rules in our party. but the one that's at the top of the list - the one that holds the most importance is 'friends don't lie.' and even if you don't want to follow that rule or whatever, me. charlotte harrington. arlo. the rogue of the party. cherry. . . i don't lie."
"is that right?" max challenged, slipping her hand into arlo's before she dragged her over to dig dug. arlo ignored the electricity that was shooting up her arm from max's touch, letting the taller girl drag her. "then how do you explain this?" max then asked, pulling the out of order sign off of the game.
"would you have came to the back if i would've came to you and asked you?" arlo questioned, her eyebrows raising as she pulled her hand out of max's.
"probably not." max answered truthfully.
"exactly." arlo mumbled.
"you know what?" max stated, making arlo look up at her. "prove it."
"what?"
"prove it? if you show me proof that everything you said is real, i'll believe you." max elaborated.
"i can't. not here, at least." arlo told her, looking around the arcade.
"so what? i suppose to just trust you?" max quizzed.
"yes." arlo nodded. before max could respond, the sound of a car revving and tires screeching came from outside. arlo practically groaned, knowing who it was. max was the first to move, heading towards the doors to make sure that it was billy. arlo followed, her jaw clenching when her eyes landed on billy.
"shit. i gotta go. um. . ." max hissed, turning around to face the shorter girl. she slipped her hand into arlo's once again, the both of the feeling electricity shoot up their arms. "don't follow me out, okay?" she told arlo before she opened the door.
"do you believe me?" arlo asked. she didn't receive an answer from the strawberry blonde, only being met with the door closing in her face. she watched as max got into billy's car, a sad expression on her face.
"did it work?" the voice of lucas sinclair asked as he appeared next to her.
"kinda." arlo mumbled.
"what do you mean 'kinda'?" lucas questioned, looking at the girl with furrowed eyebrows.
"i mean. . . she knows that i'm serious and she trusts me. but, she needs proof or evidence." arlo explained, stepping out of the arcade once billy had pulled off.
"how are we gonna show her proof?"
"i don't know."
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daij speaks!
wowwwww. it's been like two weeks :). i've been updating other books but also settling in at college cause i'm back... yay i guess. but yeah, here's this. don't know how i feel about it.
but i hope u guys enjoyed 🫶🏼