CHAPTER SEVEN:
FIGHTS & ACCEPTANCE

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

LIZ DIDN'T THINK that she would be spending her Friday morning pulling straws to see who got the job of going into a trash bin to look for Dart, but that's what happened. Thankfully, Lucas was the one who pulled the short straw and was forced to jump into trash bin. She, of course, laughed when he cursed his friends about having to go in there, to which Mike responded with, "Stop being a baby and do it already."

She watched as he jumped in and started talking about how the smell made him want to puke. Liz chuckled at Lucas's disgust as Max said, "This is so disgusting. Is this really necessary?"

"What the hell's going on?" Dustin questioned, finally arriving to school.

   "What do you think? We're looking for Dart." Mike states, leaning on one of the sticks that the five of them were gonna use to look through the trash without having to touch it.

   Bags of trash fly out of the trash bin, and land on the ground between the trio and Dustin. Lucas hops out of the trash bin, smelling like actual garbage, "Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up. After I drew the short straw. Real convenient."

   "You stink!" Max exclaims, going over to stand next to Dustin who looks happy with the situation.

   "Hi, Max." Dustin smiles. Liz's eyebrows furrow in confusion before she finally gets it. Dustin and Lucas both have a crush on the redhead. She clenches her jaw before realizing what she's doing and stops, trying to get herself to stop feeling weird. Although, it wasn't weird she was feeling, it was jealousy almost, which was weird to her because she did not like Max. Girls aren't supposed to like other girls like that.

   "Hi..." Max responds awkwardly before looking back at Liz who was looking sad and frustrated. She made a mental note to ask Liz about it later.

   "Where's Will?" Dustin asks Mike.

   "He'll be here." Mike answers.

   "Are you just gonna stand there?" Lucas questions Dustin. He pauses and throws him a stick, which he catches. "Or are you gonna help?"

   They start to poke at the bags of garbage, but find nothing except a few cock roaches, and trash. They eventually have to go to class, and take their seats in Mr. Clarke's room. The bell rings signaling class starting, and Liz glances over at Will's seat. He still hasn't shown up yet.

"All living things, from complex mammals to single-celled organisms, instinctively respond to danger. Expose a bacterium to a toxic chemical, and it will flee, or deploy some other defense mechanism." Mr. Clarke explains, as Mike looks over at Will's empty seat and sighs. "We're very much the same. When we encounter danger, our hearts start pounding. Our palms start to sweat. These are the signs of the physical and emotional state we call... fear."

◌ ◌ ◌

   By lunch, Mike had grown extremely worried about Will. With what had been happening to him, and especially with what happened yesterday with him in the field, Mike was worried about his best friend. Without even eating, as soon as the bell rang for lunch, Mike ran over to the payphone outside to call the Byers household.

   Liz watched him as he put the change into the payphone. She was drawn away from him at Max's voice, "Are you okay?"

  Liz locked eyes with her as Max bit into a sandwich. She felt a blush trail up her neck just seeing the redhead looking at her, "Uhm... what do you mean?"

   "I don't know... you've just been looking a little weird the past couple of days." Max explains to the girl who looked like she was having an internal battle with herself. "I know I've only known you for three days, but I can tell that something's wrong."

"It's... uhm... it's nothing." Liz lies, trying to avoid eye contact with the redhead. Max gave her a confused look, not knowing that Liz was cursing herself for even thinking of the girl as more than a friend.

"Are you sure?" Max asks, placing her hand on Liz's shoulder. She felt Liz relax under her touch which made her smile slightly. She had only known Liz for a few days, but there was something about her that was different than any of Max's old friends.

Liz looked up, almost with tears in her eyes which made Max concerned. Stop thinking like this, Liz. This is wrong, and you need to stop it. You like boys, you always have and always will.

   "Anything?" Lucas asked as Mike was jogging back over to the group. Liz quickly moved out of Max's grip and wiped her watery eyes.

   "We need to talk. AV room. Right now." Mike tells the group, as he runs of the school steps, stopping to turn around to Max. "Party members only."

   She stops and looks offended, and sad. Liz gives Mike a look, and so do Dustin and Lucas, "Come on, Mike."

   "No! This is non-negotiable." Mike yells before running inside.

"Sorry, Max." Dustin apologizes before heading inside, along with Lucas. Liz hesitates before opening up the door.

"Liz..." Max says. Liz glances back at the girl before taking a deep breath.

"You don't wanna be involved in what he has to say, okay? Trust me. You'll thank me later." Liz tells her before smiling as an apology, and heads inside, going straight to the AV room.

◌ ◌ ◌

Mike hops up onto the table and places his forearms on his thighs. Dustin and Lucas, and Liz sit in front of him in chairs, waiting for Mike to speak, "Will didn't want me to tell anyone, but on Halloween night he saw a sort of shadow in the sky."

"A shadow?" Lucas questions. "Wha—What kind of shadow?"

   "I don't know, but it scared him." Mike states. "And if Will really has True Sight... I mean, if he can really see into the Upside Down, maybe he saw that shadow again yesterday."

   "When I found him on the field?" Liz asks, making sure she's understanding.

   "Yeah." Mike nods.

"So that's why he was frozen like that?" Dustin asks.

"Maybe." Mike answers.

"Can it hurt him?" Lucas asks. "I mean, if this shadow thing isn't from our world..."

"I'm not sure. Dustin?" Mike asks the boy who knew almost everything about D&D.

"Well, if you're in another plane, you can't interact with the material plane, so theoretically, no, the shadow can't hurt him." Dustin explains, in theoretical terms.

"Yeah, if that's even what's happening." Mike states, sighing. "This isn't D&D. This is real life."

"So what do we do?" Lucas questions.

"We acquire more knowledge." Mike explains. "I'll go to Will's after school. See what's going on. You guys stay here and find Dart."

"Dart? What's he gotta do with this?" Dustin questions, almost looking offended that they have to continue looking for his beloved pet.

"Will heard him in the Upside Down." Mike states to Dustin. "I don't know how yet, but he's gotta be connected to all this. He's gotta be. If we find Dart, maybe we can solve this thing. Maybe we can help Will."

◌ ◌ ◌

As soon as the loud bell rang, signaling that school was over, Lucas and Liz headed out of the classroom to find Dustin so they could continue looking for Dart. Liz wasn't exactly excited to continue looking for Dart considering it was Friday, and all she wanted to do was go home, but she wanted to help Will and this was how she could do it.

"You see him?" Lucas questions the girl as they look around the crowded hall, searching for the curly headed boy.

"Nope." Liz sighs. She continues looking until she spots Max by her locker, grabbing her skateboard. "You wanna ask Max? Maybe she saw him?"

   Lucas's face lights up the idea, and he starts walking over to Max with Liz following him, "Hey, Max. Have you seen Dustin? We're supposed to meet after class."

   Max gave no answer and instead slammed her locker shut. She walked away without even a glance in their direction. Lucas and Liz shared a look of confusion, and Lucas started following her out as Liz followed him, "Max! Hey, Max!"

   "Where are you going?" Liz asked, running down the school steps after the redhead. "We've gotta go look for Dart."

   "Yeah, good luck with that." Max replies as they get down the school steps. Liz stops in her tracks at those words, now knowing that Max was mad about something. Both her and Lucas ran after her. She didn't understand why Max was upset with them.

   "What is wrong with you?" Lucas yells to her as they follow her as she's storming to her brother's car. Liz grabs his wrist slightly and gives him a look that says that he messed up. That question was something you never ask to a girl, especially one that is mad at you.

   "What is wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" Max scoffs.

   "I don't understand." Lucas states, prompting Max to turn around.

   "No! I don't understand!" Max yells harshly to the two friends, making Liz stop in her tracks and shake slightly from the girl yelling at her. "You guys act like you want me to be your friend, but then you just treat me like garbage!"

   "Max, that's not true!" Liz denies, but deep down she knew it was. She felt bad for always leaving Max out of things, but she couldn't help the fact that Max couldn't know about some things.

   "Yes, it is!" Max argues. Liz purses her lips and rubs her forearm to calm her nerves. "You just go and hide in the AV Club, keeping secrets like we're in second grade or something! You know, I thought you guys wanted me in your party."

   "We do, but it's—"

   "But what?" Max yells, demanding an answer that they haven't given her the past few days that she's known them.

   Liz sighs and steps forward, "Look, Max, there are certain things that we just can't tell you, okay? Trust me, it's for your own safety—"

   "My own safety?" She scoffs with a look of disbelief and annoyance.

   "Yes!" Lucas yells.

   "Why? Because it can't be because I'm a girl, because so is Liz and you treat her the exact same way as you treat the other boys." Max explains, gesturing to Liz. Max pauses before her face turns serious. "Did you keep secrets from El?"

   Liz's eyes widen slightly as she goes quiet. How the hell did Max know about Eleven, and who told her. Lucas was the one to ask the question, "How do you know about El?"

   "Did you?" She asks, wanting an answer.

   "That was different. Trust me, okay?" Lucas tells her. Liz clenches her jaw as she feels her friendship with Max slipping out of her grasp, just like it did with Eleven when Eleven was literally pulled away from her a year ago. "That was just... just different."

   "You know what? Forget it, okay? I don't wanna be in your stupid party anyway. I'm out." Max states, growing tired of waiting around for answers. She turns around not sparing them a second glance, "Have a nice life."

   Lucas huffs, and Liz puts a hand on his arm, "Let me try, okay?"

   She jogs over and places a hand on Max's shoulder before getting in front of her to stop Max from walking, "Get out my way, Liz."

   Those words hit Liz like a ton of bricks, and she would be lying if she said they didn't hurt. Liz lets go of Max's shoulder and takes a deep breath, "I know that you're not the happiest with me, right now, but let me explain."

   Max glares at Liz, waiting for her to speak, "I know that Mike was a dick to you, and I'm sorry—"

   "He wasn't the only one." Max states harshly, referring to Liz. "You messed with my head. You acted like you wanted to be my friend, and I really thought we were, but you just treated me like other girls have. Like shit. I don't wanna hear what you have to say, okay?"

   "I'm sorry, Max... but you just don't understand—"

   "What!? What do I not understand!? What is so fucking dangerous that you can't tell me!" Max yells loudly in Liz's face. At that point, Liz was on the brink of tears. With everything that's been happening to her, and now this on top of it. It was all too much and she was breaking. "Actually, you know what? Don't say anything else. You know I really thought you were different, that you were special. I was wrong. Screw you, Liz."

   Max bumps Liz's shoulder as she walks away and sets down her skateboard, riding the rest of the way to her brother's car. Liz bites her lip and takes deep breaths to stop her tears, but it doesn't work. She starts walking towards the bike racks, not saying another word to Lucas, and takes off on her bike, straight home.

Stop crying about her. You're so pathetic, crying over losing a friend. You know that you didn't actually like her as more than a friend. It was only a platonic friendship and that was all it would ever be. You're not gay, you like boys... But that smile, and that hair that matched her spunk. No. Stop. Don't you dare think about her that way. Stop crying. Stop crying.

   As soon as she spots her house, she rides up and drops her bike in the front yard. The tears start to fall when she opens the front door and spots Steve in the kitchen making a sandwich. He immediately asks her what's wrong, but she ignores him and drops her backpack by the door before sprinting up the stairs.

Liz collapses onto her bed and hugs one of her pillows tightly as it gets damp with her tears. A knock on the door makes her sit up slightly as the tears continue rolling down her face, "Liz? Liz, let me in. What's wrong?"

Liz bites her lip, not wanting to let her brother in. She already hated herself for even thinking about Max in a romantic way, she didn't want her brother to judge her for it, too, "Liz, please."

Liz sighs and wipes her face quickly, before opening up her bedroom door. Steve stood there with a concerned face. Liz sighed once more and she felt a tear fall down her cheek, "How did you feel when Nancy told you that she didn't love you?"

Steve was surprised at that question. He opened his mouth a few times before finally speaking, "Uhm... it felt like my heart was being crushed by her own two feet. It hurt like hell. How did you know—"

"Middle schoolers gossip just as much as high schoolers." Liz tells him before letting him in her room. She walks back over to her bed, and sits down.

Steve sits across from her, "Talk to me, Liz."

She hesitates before speaking as she plays with her comforter on her bed, "You know that new kid in your grade, Billy Hargrove?"

Steve nods, "Yeah, he's an asshole. What about him? Did... Did say something to you? Did he do something to you?"

"No!" Liz denies, making Steve visibly relax. "He, uhm, he has a sister. She's in my grade. Her name is... Max... Max Mayfield." God, even her name is beautiful.

  "Did... did she do something?" Steve asks, not understand what had caused his sister to be this upset. He hasn't seen her cry this hard since after Eleven was gone. She must have cried for weeks after it happened, and she spent a lot of time locked in her room.

   Liz chuckles slightly as tears continue to fall, "Yeah... yeah, she did."

   "What did she do?" Steve questions, scooting closer to his sister.

   Liz takes a deep breath and looks Steve in the eyes. She hasn't even been able to say this to herself out loud, so how the hell was she supposed to utter the words now. She looks down at her hands and sighs, "I'm not normal, Steve. I'm... different, and it's not a good different, it's a bad different. God, it's so bad."

   Steve places a hand on her knee, and she looks up at him with watery eyes. His face was full of worry for his sister, "Liz, you've always been different, okay? You've never been a normal girl, but that's what makes you special. Why are crying about it?"

   Liz sobs slightly as she finally utters the words, "I... I like girls, Steve. It's so bad. I'm not supposed to feel this way. Girls aren't supposed to feel this way about other girls."

   Steve wraps his arms around Liz and pulls her into his chest where she sobs. Steve softly strokes her hair as she grips his t-shirt in her fist, "Liz, don't you ever think that loving someone is wrong. You are allowed to love whoever you wanna love. I don't care that you like girls, I mean, at least now we have something in common besides our blood and shared trauma."

   Liz would've chuckled at that statement if it weren't for how hard she was crying. It wasn't all sad tears, though. Some of it was happy as she learned that her brother accepted her for who she was, not caring what gender she loved. Liz lightly pushes herself out of her brother's chest, and looks into his eyes. He smiles at her and she smiles at him. He then smirks, "So, tell me about Max."

   Liz chuckles, and a weight gets lifted off her shoulders as she finally feels like she can talk about it without having to feel ashamed. She feels her cheeks heat up just picturing the redhead, "She is... smart, funny, beautiful. She skateboards so she's obviously a badass. She... she makes me happy, and I know that I make her happy." Liz's smile falls. "But, she's mad at me right now, she might even hate me."

   "Why?" Steve asks.

   "Because I've been keeping things from her. Things that happened last year with Will and the Upside Down that I can't tell her." Lis takes a small breath before informing Steve of what has been going on. "Recently, Will has started having more episodes and she's so confused about, but we can't tell her anything." Liz explains, her heart hurting at the thought of Max hating her. "She hates me right now, but that's okay. I rather have her safe and hating me than in danger and liking me."

"I don't think she hates you, Liz. I think she's just tired of the secrecy. Give her time." Steve tells her, rubbing her shoulder. She gives him a small, fake smile and he sighs, glancing towards the door being patting her knee. "Come on. I'll make you a sandwich."

"I don't want a sandwich." Liz tells him, sighing, just wanting to be left alone.

"Well, then... I'll make you something else." Steve tells her, standing up and walking towards the door. "Come on! I'm a good cook and you know it."

"Steve, it's really nice what you're trying to do, but—"

She gets cut off by Steve grabbing her by the waist, and throwing her over his shoulder. She lets out a yelp of surprise and starts hitting Steve's back, "Steve, what the hell?! Put me down!"

"Eating makes everyone feel better, Liz." Steve reminds her as he takes her down the stairs. She lets out a groan of annoyance. Liz got annoyed with her brother a lot, but he always knew how to make her feel better. She wouldn't trade him for the world.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

A/N:

[ 3318 WORDS ]

a long