꧁꧂

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ: ꜱɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋꜱᴇᴀᴛ

"I seriously doubt that." She says from my bed.

Ever since the Snowball, it's been two things that I can hide from Max- and you can make a good guess of what each of the secrets are. I came out to Mom the same night, leaving the dance early like the unsocial kid that I am, finding her outside with Hop- like seven feet away from the school's gym. So, I'd done a pretty good job at keeping it to myself... for about ten minutes...

Hop didn't really give a shit when he heard, and Mom did that mom thing of being overdramatic for when their child does something basic for themselves- hugging me so tight I may have exploded right there and then if she wasn't careful. Hopper did, however, offer to scare any kids if they bullied me for it though, so that was nice...

"Maxine Mayfield." I say, looking at her from the mirror. "You're doubting me?!" I asked, faking shock and hurt in my voice.

She didn't even look up from the magazine she was reading, smirking. "I certainly am, Parker Byers."

Turning in my chair, I got a better look at the red head, of who was sprawled across my bed, comfier than I'd ever seen her before. Max probably spent just as much time at our place than at her own house- which didn't really scare me that much considering what I'd heard about Billy and Neil's behaviour. She couldn't help it when she'd tap on my bedroom window at two in the morning, begging to stay for the rest of the day, and I certainly wasn't going to let her stay out there in the cold to freeze.

"I did the kickflip." I insisted, placing the comic down on my desk to cross my arms.

"And I've got a pet Demogorgon." She mocked, making me snicker. Dustin who? "Did Johnathan video it?"

"Why would Johnathan video it?" I asked her, confused on why such a thing would even occur. Johnathan was far too wrapped in work, but more importantly- Nancy. He could never seem to take his eyes off of the girl.

She shrugged, then turning magazine's page around to show me a picture of some boy. "Look at him. I bet he'd be an amazing kisser." I grimaced at her words, looking at the boy in question. He wasn't exactly the definition or pretty. Steve Harrington had better hair. "Can you please pretend you're interested in a guy for two seconds?" Max teased me, turning the magazine back to her, continuing to look.

"Uh..." I rolled my eyes slightly and looked away, needing a subject change immediately.

"There must be some guy you're interested in, Park." The girl says, flicking through the pages. Nope. Not even close. I chuckled, biting my lip as I thought desperately. I certainly wasn't going to lie my way out of this one. No matter how tempting it was. "What?" She asked, eyes no longer glued to the reading material in front of her, and over at me. Shaking my head silently, I spun back around to pick up my comic book on Black Widow.

"So, you do like someone?" There was a teasing sound in my best friend's voice, making me hate this conversation even more than I already was. Staying silent, I read the book and shook my head. "Is it Dustin? God, please tell me it's not Dustin- What about that boy who sat in front of us in Mr Clarke's class... I forgot his name-"

"I don't like any guy." I insisted, turning to look over at her from the comic quickly. The girl raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Max." I warn, but the eyebrow didn't fall down, and she smiled. "What?" I asked, trying to hold back a smile, too. It was contagious.

"You like someone, I know it." She continued to tease, causing a roll of the eyes from me in return. "Park, seriously, you know I'm not going to judge you-"

"Well..." I murmured, grabbing my comic book and carrying on my reading.

Silence sat between us for a moment as Max configured something in her head. "Parker Byers, if you do not tell me who you like, I am stealing your Wonder Woman collection." She suddenly said, my eyes darting up at her. "Yeah, exactly."

"You own one third of it already." I say, pointing out how she'd taken a few with her on her Spring break trip back to Cali. If it weren't for the expense of the trip, she would've made me tag along back to her state, too.

"Parker, come on." She whined on and on, eventually throwing her magazine over at me in desperation of an answer.

Sighing, I stared over at the mischievous look on her face. "Let's put it this way- I don't like guys." I waited for a reply as she took that information in, trying to understand what I'd just said.

"So-" The room's mood and atmosphere had changed in seconds. All because of those nine little words. "I mean- guys do suck but-" She pulled a face, trying to understand but not at all. Maybe those nine words didn't set the record straight... or- it did-

"Max." I say, speaking over her out loud thinking. "I don't like guys." I repeated, slower as if I were at Kindergarten teacher.

"Yeah, I mean-" She went to say the same thing again but stop midway, the penny finally dropping. "Wait-" Oh? Was that a good wait or a bad wait? Or was it- I-am-processing-this wait? Nodding, I stayed quiet, as the girl sat up on my bed, thinking. "Well, you have better taste than me... that's for sure..." I smiled at the joke weakly, hoping she was going to take it well- or at least not tell the whole world.

"Yeah..." I didn't even know what to say. When Mom found out, so did Will and Johnathan by default. And it wasn't like I cared too much about that bit. Again- really following the help Nance had given me.

Shrugging, I went back to the comic book, trying to fill the awkwardness in the room. "Parker?" I glanced up at her and the softer voice. "I don't care if you like girls." She tells me. "As long as you're happy." Well, she was halfway there... as long as she never finds out about the feelings part- we'll be just fine. "And hey- if a girl breaks your heart-" She stood up, eyes wide with what looked like excitement. "Oh my God I'm gonna find you the best girlfriend yet-" How about you? If I were sleep deprived, that was exactly what I would've said, too...

"PARK?" The door opened up to Will, bag on his back. The two of us looked over at my twin brother as he looked from me, over at Max, and back at me. "We're gonna miss the movie."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I glanced over at my clock. I guess the batteries had died on that, then... "Shit, what time is it?" I asked, beginning to stand up, Will was already out of the doorframe, rushing for the door.

"SEVEN." Fuck. We were late.

Max and I picked up our things and ran after the boy, stuffing them into my bag, shouting to Mom how much we loved her before leaving and slamming the door shut.

"Come on, we're going to be late!" He shouted from his bike, waiting impatiently, and ringing the bell over and over.

"Watch it, William." I warned, picking up my bike from the side of the porch and rolling it down the steps. Stepping onto the bike, I glanced up at the sky as Max got on the back of it, arms wrapping around my stomach. Butterflies! Yay! "How the hell-"

"COME ON!" Will was already off, not even waiting for me. As Max heard me curse him under my breath, I peddled away, following after my brother so we would get to Starcourt in time.

As we turned corners and biked down the road, I felt Max lean her head on my shoulder like she'd usually do, but this time it was different. I didn't think she'd be treating me even close to the same after coming out to her- but there was no difference. Why did I love that so much?

"I really am gonna find you a girlfriend, Park." She murmured quietly as we turned another corner.

"What?" I called, glancing back at her as if I'd not just heard her perfectly clear. I wanted her, not some other girl.

"I said- I'm gonna find you someone. Like to date." She repeated herself but used slightly different vocabulary as we entered the Starcourt parking lot.

Nodding, I slowed us down, with the girl jumping off and walking beside me. "It'll be a challenge, you know that, right?" I asked, small smile on my face.

"I deal with both you and Lucas. I can take challenges." She continued to be her teasing self, and I rolled my eyes at her remark, rolling the bike over to where the others had parked their own. All except for Mike, of course. It wouldn't surprise me if he was still making out with El at Hopper's cabin.

"Where is he?" I asked, hopping off the bike to Lucas and Will, of who were looking around.

"Where do you think?" A tired Lucas asked, then mimicking a kissing sound. Oh. 

Sighing, I glanced around before over at Will. "We've got ten minutes until previews start." My brother says, glancing back at his watch over and over again. "We're going to miss it if he takes so long." I would've called him impatient, or overdramatic, but he wasn't being it. This had happened multiple times now, and it wasn't just getting on Will's nerves.

⊹˚˖⁺

The group of us stood at the entrance, the couple of the four stood arms crossed while me and Will stood awkwardly. When Mike did turn up, it seemed as though nothing was wrong. Which was a fucking lie.

"You're late." Lucas told him, basically the moment he arrived.

"Sorry!" He said, hopping off as he parked it.

"Again..." I muttered, hands of my hips as I glanced around.

"We're gonna miss the opening." Will told the late boy, of who thought that was a ridiculous thing to say.

"Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it." He commented. "Let's go." He walked around the bike rack, with Lucas beginning to get on his nerves for us all.

"If you guys keep whining about it. Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh." He said in his rather mature manner, mocking Mike.

"Just, please stop talking, dude." Mike told him, turning him towards Starcourt's entrance. As we began to walk with them, Max grabbed my hand, trying to keep up with two fast walkers that were bickering.

"Let me guess. You were busy." Lucas smacked his lips together, making kissing sounds.

"Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas." Mike told him as we tried to follow- making it impossible as they walked through like three groups of people.

"Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends!" He said in a mocking voice. Mike glared over at him, while I held back a laugh, which didn't go well, because Max slapped my hand. Whoops.

"Lucas, stop." She told her boyfriend, also giving me a look.

"Will and Park thinks it's funny." Lucas pointed out, looking at both our smirking faces.

"Because it is!" Will exclaimed, laughing still.

"Yeah, it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend." Mike said, obviously annoyed as we walked around the mall.

"I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend!" Lucas claimed, now walking next to the other side of Max, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Wow, so romantic...

"Lucas, that McDonalds date does not count." I told him as we began towards the escalators.

"How do you know about the McDonalds date?!" He asked, and Max gave me a short glare. Rule number one: never talk of the McDonalds date.

"Erica told me." I lied after a moment of thought, not looking over at the boy.

"Everybody knows about the McDonalds date." Will assured Lucas, causing the boy beside Max to groan. When we got to the escalators, we ran into the first of many problems- getting down the most crowded part of the mall so far.

"Sorry- excuse me- sorry! Yes- sorry- excuse us-" Guiding Max through the absolute chaos of crowds, the girl seemingly was able to stay close to me, keeping hold to my jumper's sleeve so she wouldn't lose me.

"WATCH IT!" A girl shouted over at Mike as he walked into her the moment he stepped off the escalator, with us following behind him like dogs and the postman.

"YEAH! WATCH IT, NERDS!" My head turned to Erica's voice, making me laugh. As we walked, the four of us overheard the Sinclairs argue. 

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Our friend asked his sister.

"Isn't it time you died?" She fired back, making me laugh before Max gave me a short living glare.

"PYSCHO." He shouted over at her while her friends around her laughed.

"BUTTHEAD!"

"MALL RAT!"

"FART FACE!" We walked closer to Scoops Ahoy, and Max again grabbed my hand as she heard Lucas blow a raspberry over at his younger sister.

"Oh, now that was mature." She let the remark slip, also grabbing his arm to pull him away from the bickering.

As Mike walked towards the front desk, he ran the bell repeatedly for Robin to hear and see, of who raised an eyebrow, not looking away from us. "Hey, dingus, your children are here!" I'd met Robin a whole three times, and she was one of the coolest people I knew. I don't even think she knows my name.

Steve opened up the back window, revealing him in his lovely uniform and AHOY hat. "Again?" A tired face asked us. "Seriously?" We stood there, expectingly, while Mike ran the bell again.

After the boy muttered about how much he hated our guts, Steve lead us through to the back again, rushing us through as quick as possible so no one had a chance of seeing. "I SWEAR, IF ANYBODY HEARS ABOUT THIS-" Before he can even finish his words calling over a us, we finish his on sentence.

"We're dead." We all spoke out in unison, walking down the back corridor. We'd heard it that many times, already... Rule number two: don't get caught

⊹˚˖⁺

"All clear." Mike said, gesturing over at us to follow after him from the door. Shadowing the boy, we walked out of the corridor of one theatre, and over to another. Just as the adverts found themselves at their ending points, we'd walked in, finding seats near the middle back, and sat down, apologising to each person we passed.

"See Lucas? We made it!" Mike muttered from the row behind us and I smirked at the continuation of arguing. We really couldn't go a minute of peace, huh...

"We missed the previews." Lucas said in return.

"Still made it, Fart face." Max teased beside me to her boyfriend, making me laugh momentarily. Opening up my bag, I nudged Maxine beside me, letting her pick out whatever she wanted for her and Lucas, leaving the rest for myself as Will had brought food for both he and Mike.

The film began, and I didn't find myself really paying attention. I pretended to, of course, but it was hard to do that when Max was leaning her head on my shoulder and smiling so sweetly like that. But then it stopped- causing the whole of the crowd to break into shouting, including the girl next to me and her skittles.

Before I could hear anymore complaining from Lucas, though, the movie resumed, with cheering from all of the audience and crowd. Tonight was going to be a good night, right?