"Heart made of glass, my mind of stone. Tear me to pieces, skin and bone. Hello, welcome home."
[ chapter twelve ] → the sixth sense
If Mike Wheeler could use one word to describe the last few weeks of his life it would simply be awkward. He felt like anytime he was near Max, the tension was thick, like an invisible fog that surrounded them, not to mention the cold stares Lucas would randomly give him. He couldn't understand why Lucas was mad at him, he didn't remember doing anything wrong to piss him off, and he couldn't understand why the party seemed to be acting so off, almost like everyone was keeping secrets from one another. He just wanted things to go back to normal, but what was normal?
Max had started to detach herself from the party, always hanging around Annika, and as much as he wanted to, he just couldn't bring himself to be happy about it. When he would walk past them in the halls, their voices would go from loud shouts to quiet whispers. He felt like he was being replaced, and he didn't like it one bit. Who was she to decide that she was done with him, with the party, and just leave them in the dust like that?
Before he did something stupid that would probably piss of the red-haired girl, he wanted answers, and that would come from none other than Lucas Sinclair, her boyfriend.
Walking into the lunchroom, felt more like a confrontation than a conversation, sliding into the empty seat next to Lucas, Mike didn't miss the slightly annoyed look that the boy gave him before he went back to drinking his water.
"I need to talk to you."
Lucas slightly turned and faced him, Mike continued,
"About Max."
Lucas let out a bitter laugh, "Of course you would ask about Max. What, no Maxine?"
Mike looked at him confused as to why he was being so snappy, "Lucas, if you have a problem with me, then just tell me."
Lucas shook his head, "Oh, no never, I have absolutely no problems with the king himself Mike Wheeler."
Mike rolled his eyes, this conversation was getting old, and real fast, he had no desire to argue with Lucas, he came here for answers and that was what he was going to get.
"Are you guys okay?" Mike questioned.
Lucas looked at him questioningly, "Why do you care?"
"Because you're my friend and I care about you."
Lucas looked at the boy sitting next to him for a solid ten seconds before he demeanor relaxed, this wasn't his competition, this was Mike, his best friend, and acting like a douchebag towards him was going to get him nowhere, besides he was sure Mike was head over heels for Eleven,
"It's complicated."
"What do you mean?"
"Well we are having a bit of a disagreement, but it's going to be all over soon, Max and I love each other, I just know it."
Mike felt an uneasy feeling wash over him as Lucas said those words, they loved each other, Max loved Lucas, he knew that, so why did it feel like his heart was being squeezed in the most painful way? Maybe it was because he knew what it felt like to be cared for by her, and he didn't want anyone else to feel that way, or maybe it was just because anytime Max and Lucas were mentioned in a conversation it gave him a slight headache. He chose the latter.
Max Mayfield skated next to Annika Green as the two of them made their way outside the double doors of the middle school, she heard her name being mentioned and whipped her head towards the courtyard, her eyes landing on Troy and his goons. The second her ice-cold gaze met Troy's, he immediately shut his mouth, turning around and quickly walking away. Max smirked to herself, ever since the night of the snowball, Troy had been scared shitless and wouldn't even come five feet within her, much to her pleasure.
Annika looked at Max, "What was that about?"
Max shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing, he's just scared to come near me."
"Why?"
"Cause Mike punched him."
Abruptly Annika grasped onto Max's arm, almost causing the girl to fall over before she steadied herself, "We need to talk about this."
"I don't thin-"
Before Max could even finish her sentence she was being dragged towards one of the empty picnic tables, Annika turning to face her expectedly once she sat down beside her.
"Do you like Mike?"
Max snorted. Of course she didn't like him, he had just barely started tolerating her, he had been the biggest dick to her when she had first moved here, he had refused to even giver her a chance, but he had also stood up for her, multiple times, he was there for her when no one else was, he would be nice to her one second and then go back to being a complete douche the next. Anything that involved Mike Wheeler was complicated, completely and utterly complicated, but Annika wouldn't understand that.
"No, there's not one bone in my body that likes him."
Annika stared at Max, her eyes filled with a mixture of emotions, gaze penetrating, finally, Max broke the staring contest they had unconsciously started, Annika spoke,
"You're lying."
Max huffed starting to retaliate when a voice spoke over her,
"What's Max lying about?"
Max turned around to see Will Byers walking towards them, slipping in the seat across from her.
Annika sighed playfully, "Maxine here, likes someone."
Will gasped, "Is that why you broke up with Lucas? You like someone else?"
Max was about to speak when she was once again cut off, this time by Annika's screeching,
"You broke up with Lucas?" Her voice sounded surprised, but something in her eyes made Max feel like she already knew.
"I did break up with Lucas, but not because I like someone else, but because I feel like I've outgrown the relationship, I mean we were so young when we started dating, I didn't think it was going to be forever."
"Well, I don't think Lucas sees it that way."
Max stared at Will, urging him to continue, "He's hellbent that you guys are in love with each other and will get back together."
Max let out a gasp, "He's what?!? Why?"
Will shrugged his shoulders, "He's not over it, I guess."
Max chewed on her bottom lip, a bad habit she did whenever she felt anxious, and right now with all this Lucas drama she felt a little bit overwhelmed, she just needed to take a breathe and detach for a while, that's why she had started hanging out with the party less, to let Lucas and herself heal, and also partly because she just couldn't get out what Lucas said to her about what Mike thought of her, out of her head. He loathed her, she knew that, so why wouldn't that small part of her, the part that liked being with Mike let her believe that? She knew her answer before she even really thought about it, even though Lucas had told her all the nasty things Mike said about her, he had shown her that in the end, she could count on him, Lucas didn't know what he had done for her, after all, actions spoke louder than words.
"Maybe Mike likes you" Annika spoke.
Max scoffed, "As if, I've never seen two people more in love then Mike and Jane."
Will shrugged, "I mean he's been nicer to you."
"He was a dick when I first got here, now he's just being civil. He's been practically forced to hang around me, I don't think that qualifies as him liking me."
Annika shook her head, disagreeing with Max, "Think about it, he's been staring at you these last few days longingly, almost like he wants to talk to you. You cannot tell me he hates you, especially now."
Max brushed it off, the idea of Mike liking her seemed impossible, even more so because Max was almost completely sure that Mike and Eleven were soulmates, destined to be together forever, with nothing or no one being able to break their bond. It was the type of love were nobody else mattered except for them.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Max said, standing up and grabbing her skateboard.
Annika laughed, "Ok Max, don't forget about the musical next week, you have to be there."
Max gave her a thumbs up as she skated away, she faintly heard Will ask Annika why he wasn't invited, but she was too far away to hear the answer.
Riding through the streets of Hawkins, wind whipping past her, red hair flying behind her, the world moving rapidly fast beneath her feet, Max never felt more free. She loved the feeling she got while skateboarding, a feeling of freedom, and security. She felt like if she wanted to, she could just skate out of Hawkins and leave everything behind, discover new places, see different cultures, meet new people, she felt like she could do it all. But something was holding her back, somehow she just couldn't get herself to actually go through with it, she didn't really have a reason to stay, but something wasn't letting her give up.
Right now, however, she didn't feel secure at all, instead, she felt unsafe. Being thrown into the world of the upside down had made her more conscious and more aware of her surroundings, it was almost like she had gained a sixth sense, letting her know when a situation was dangerous, or when something felt a little off. She was getting that very same feeling now, she felt like she was being watched. Scanning the area around her she felt the familiar sense of dread creep up her stomach, she wasn't just being paranoid, she rounded the corner and was greeted with the sight of the dreary white van she had seen weeks ago at Mike's house. She rode past it slowly, hoping to be able to read the lettering on the side, but to no avail, the words were scratched out, almost as if someone had purposely done it.
Feeling slightly creeped out, Max rode a bit faster, and took the next turn, thinking the truck was gone, but before she could let out a breath, she heard the engine roar to life and could make out the van's headlights as it approached her. She was being followed. Max wasted no time in, picking her skateboard up and fleeing into the woods. The only way they would be able to get to her is if they got out of the van and physically started chasing her.
She had been in these woods multiple times before, and easily found her way back home, she peered through the branches making sure the street was void of a certain white van, before she skated home, the uneasy feeling of being watched never leaving her the entire time.
If there was one rule Max followed, when it came it to dealing with anything suspicious in Hawkins, whether it be connected to the upside down or not, was that you always tell someone, and that was exactly what she was going to do.
I've updated twice this summer, that's not good, at all. Anyways new chapter, sorry for no Mike and Max interaction these last couple chapters, they'll be back next chapter. I hope you guys liked the chapter, i'm ready for my dosage of Madwheeler next chapter. All the love. Thanks for reading!
I recently created a new book called 'Castle Of Dreams' which is a graphic/plot shop and misc. so if you're interested in that, go check it out.
DON'T BE A SILENT READER!
VOTE & COMMENT.
© all rights to stranger things & flames. 2018.