[ chapter fourteen ] → discovering elliott
Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
☆ ☆ ☆
Hours turned into days and soon Max had fallen into a pattern of completely avoiding Mike. Max knew that Mike hadn't meant what he said in the courtyard but that didn't mean she was ok with it. What he said had hurt, a lot more than it should have. As the days passed it became slightly easier for her to push aside her feelings. If there was one thing Maxine Mayfield was good at, it was avoiding things, especially things that affected her on an emotional level. So life went on and Max although hurt, kept her head held high and carried on because that's the only thing she could do.
The bell had just rung, signaling the end of the period and the beginning of lunch. Max strolled out of her classroom pausing when she heard her name being shouted. She slowed down looking over her shoulder before her eyes widened at the sight of Mike Wheeler walking towards her. Hastily she quickened her pace trying to lose him in the crowd of hungry teenagers, she heard him yell again,
"Cmon Max! We're going to the same place!"
She ignored him walking into the lunchroom and sitting down at their usual lunch table. A second later he joined her, dropping his bags down to sit next to her.
"How long are you gonna ignore me for? You know I didn't mean it." Mike said waving his hand in front of Max's face in an attempt to get her attention.
She squinted her eyes, irritated at his hand in front of her face, but otherwise kept her mouth shut.
He huffed, "Fine. Don't talk to me, El can't be mad if you chose to ignore me."
Max now turned to fully face him, her eyebrows scrunched in anger. If there was one thing she hated more than her family life it was people being forced to talk to her.
"So your only talking to me now because El forced you to? Do you not even have an ounce of guilt Wheeler?"
"What? No that's not what I said. When did I ever say that?"
"It was implied!"
They were both yelling rather loudly at each other now, their constant bickering going unnoticed by hardly a few. Their argument came to an end when Annika sat down on the other side of Max and pulled her into a conversation about the upcoming musical. However, Max could still feel Mike's intense glare at the back of her head as she talked to the girl beside her and she made sure to give Mike a few dirty glances.
Lunch had just ended and Micheal Wheeler found himself walking alongside Will towards their next class. They where just about to enter their classroom when Mike felt a forceful pull on his hand and suddenly he was inside the AV club room.
"What the hell, Will!" Mike groaned, pulling his wrist away from Will's death grip.
"I saw what happened at lunch between you and Max. Why would you say El made you apologize? She doesn't even know what happened!"
Mike scowled, "I know ok! I just thought if I told her someone else made me do it, things would go back to the way things used to be."
"Why can't you just apologize and become friends with her?" Will questioned, confused by Mike's logic.
"Because-beca- I don't know! It's easier this way, why do you care anyway? Why do I even care? I don't. I don't care."
Will watched as his friend went through a series of emotions. He could tell something was holding Mike back, he didn't even have a reason for not being nice to Max. El was back so that wasn't a reason for Mikes constant bitterness towards the girl. The only plausible reason he could come up with was that Mike was scared, but even then what was he scared of?
Will voiced his opinion, "What are you so afraid of? Is it really so bad being friends with Max."
Mike shrugged his shoulders, "She's Mayfield, I'm Wheeler. We don't like each other, that's just how it always has been. We're not friends, we're not nice to each other. Why should I apologize?"
"You're so frustrating sometimes. She clearly helped you when the Billy thing happened and you weren't exactly pushing her away then. In fact, if I remember correctly she was the only person you would talk to."
"Don't bring that up. That was a one-time thing." Mike warned.
"Why? Why not?" Will challenged clearly not buying Mikes bullshit answer.
"Just don't," Mike yelled.
Will put up his hands in surrender, not in the mood to start an argument with his best friend, "Fine, but one day you'll be sorry you weren't nicer to her sooner."
Will walked out of the room after that and Mike slowly trudged after him thoughts of a certain redhead swirling around his head.
"Why do I feel like this?" Max questioned bellyflopped on her bed, turning to face the girl laying next to her.
Annika gave Max a pointed stare, "It's obvious Max. You like him."
If Max had been drinking water it would have exploded out of her mouth and most likely would have chocked on it, "What? I do not!" She chocked, her heart hammering against her chest.
"But you do."
Max's breathing had intensified and a bright pink blush centered around her cheeks as she threw a pillow at the unsuspecting girl "I DO NOT!"
Annika laughed as the pillow hit her, pushing aside to look at Max, "It's okay Max. It's okay to like him ya'know? Mike isn't Elliott."
Max took a sharp intake of breath all the humor leaving her face as she remembered her closest friend Elliott from California. She felt all the memories they had shared together flash before her eyes, Elliott and her racing each other on their skateboards, Elliott and her bickering about the latest episode of Gilmore Girls, Elliott holding her as she sat scared on the top of the stairs listening to her parents screaming at each other, Elliott squeezing her hand as they watched her mother remarry, Elliott pulling her into a hug as she sat on the hospital bed next to him, sobs wracking through both their bodies because they both knew they didn't have much time left with each other, it was Elliott whose funeral she had attended that gloomy day, face awash with tears as she looked down at the boy within the casket, the boy she had called her best friend. She had to take a moment to collect herself before she spoke her voice sharper than she intended,
"I know he isn't okay? So just drop it."
Initially, Annika looked hurt but Max could have sworn she saw the girls eyes fill with anger for the briefest of moments before her face became void of emotion.
"Sorry I-" Max began to apologize but Annika brushed it off, "It's fine to let's just go back to talking about why you think someone is following you."
Still feeling guilty about snapping at her, Max dove into the story of her walking home from school and the reasons she had thought someone might show interest in her, while still trying to refrain from telling Annika big details such as the whole multi-dimension monster issue. After all, how do you explain to someone that you have trust issues because a lab experimented on people unwillingly, and opened a whole portal of unhuman creatures, creating another dimension entirely? The answer is simple, you don't.
Hello my loves! After a long long long break, I am back! First off, Happy New Year! It's crazy that it's all ready 2019, where has time gone? Anyways, I wanted to thank you guys on 15,000+ reads, that's insane! Thank you for your continued support on this book, it truly means the world. We are about to hit one year on this book, and I want to say a special thank you to those of you who have been here from day one, you are the reason that this book is still here, you are my motivation. As usual please let me know if there are any spelling/grammar mistakes. Thanks for reading!
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