Trust - Lucas Sinclair

Mall Rats (Part 1)

The next day Nikki went over to Max's house because Max had been teaching her how to skateboard since the summer began. Nikki wasn't terrible but she certainly wasn't as good as Max who has been skateboarding for years now.

Nikki sat on the curb as Max tried to master a new trick that seemed to be giving her a little troubled. Every time it wouldn't go right, Nikki would offer a little comment that would make the girl rolled her eyes or laugh before she got back on the skateboard to try it again.

"That looked amazing," Nikki said as Max failed to land on the skateboard.

Max rolled her eyes. "Well I'm going to get it. Unlike you, who just sits down after five fails."

"I only stopped because you were taking up the entire road, falling everywhere."

Max laughed as she got back on the skateboard. "That's a little over dramatic, don't you think?"

Nikki laughed as Max tried the trick again, making the board go away from her.

"There she goes!" Nikki said as Max almost hit the pavement.

Nikki stood up to go retrieve the skateboard that was going down the road but she didn't have to worry about it. El had gotten it for them. El grabbed it tucked it under her arm, looking at the girls angrily.

Well...today's the day I die, Nikki thought, looking at El's expression that quickly melt into a less angry expression as she approached the girls.

"Hi," El said shyly, giving Max back her skateboard before looking between the two girls.

"Hi?" Max answered for both her and Nikki.

"El, what are you doing here?" Nikki asked, knowing that she planned to hangout with Mike as she always did.

"Umm.." El's expression went to more worried as she looked back at the two awkwardly. "Can we talk?"

***

The girls found themselves inside Max's room after El showed up. El explained the situation with her and Mike and how she was confused with everything he was telling her.

As Nikki listened to the story, she thought back to what she saw the previous night with Mike and Hopper.

Mike looked scared, Nikki recalled. That wouldn't have anything to do with this though, right?

"And then he said he missed me," El continued to fill the girls in. "And then he just hung up."

Max turned back to El, stopping the pacing she was doing to talk to her. "He's a piece of shit."

El looked surprised as Nikki let out a laugh from the opposite side of the bed.

"What?" El scrunched up her eyebrows.

"Mike doesn't have jack shit to do today," Max sighed as she explained, "and his Nana obviously isn't sick. I guarantee you, him and Lucas are playing Atari right now."

El looked at Nikki to see if she knew anything. Nikki just shrugged and replied. "All I know is he's planning on hanging out with some of our friends. He didn't say which ones."

El sighed and turned back around. "But friends don't lie."

"Oh yeah?" Nikki bit back a laugh as she turned to Max. "Hey, Max. You suck at skateboarding."

"Well, Nikki," Max crossed her arms. "You're very good at skateboarding, like, you're a pro."

"Lies!" The two girls said in unison.

"But Mike said friends don't lie," El said.

"Yeah, well, boyfriends lie," Max said, making Nikki squint her eyes at her. "All the time."

***

"She knows I'm lying," Mike paced the floor on his basement as Lucas listened to him and Will set up D&D. "She knows I'm lying."

"I don't even understand," Lucas shook his head trying to understand his friend better. "Why lie?"

"Hopper," Mike explained, making Lucas remember the night before. "He threatened me."

Lucas remembered how shocked Mike looked in the truck. "Did he say he'd kill you?"

"What? No."

Lucas threw his hands up. "So then, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is if I don't do what he says, then he'll stop me from seeing El. Like, permanently," Mike explained, making Lucas rub his eyes. "You don't understand, Lucas. He's crazy. He lost his mind. Soon he'll be coming after you, just like he did with me."

"I don't think so," Lucas shook his head honestly. "You to have a very different relationship ship compared to mine and Nikki's. I think Hopper likes our relationship better."

"Hey, guys, I'm almost set up here," Will interrupted from them table, still setting up the board game.

"Well, whether he likes your relationship or not, it doesn't take away from the fact that I had no choice but to lie to El. I really had no choice," Mike said.

"I just wish you'd consulted me, because the way you handled this," Lucas gave him a tight lipped smile, "you're in deep shit."

***

"You're going to stop calling him," Max said, sitting in between the two girls. "You're going to ignore his calls. As far as you're concerned, he doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?" El repeated.

"He treated you like garbage," Max continued. "You're gonna treat him like garbage. Give him a taste of his own medicine."

"Give him the medicine," El nodded.

Max nodded back to her. "And if he doesn't fix this, if he doesn't explain himself, dump his ass."

"That a little harsh, Max," Nikki commented.

***

Mike groaned putting his hands in his hair.

"I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be bad," Lucas said honestly, making Mike groan again. "But you can fix this. It's just one little mistake. I've made hundreds, thousands. But Nikki is surprisingly very forgiving. But still, if I screw up bad enough where I still feel bad about it, I know a way to make it all better between the two of us."

"What is it?" Mike asked.

"I'll show you, come on," Lucas and Mike ran up the stairs ready to go get El back to Mike.

***

"Come on," Max grabbed the girls' hands.

"Where are we going?" El asked as they started to leave Max's room.

"To have some fun. There's more to life than stupid boys, you know."

This should be interesting, Nikki thought.

Authors note
I really like this episode for some reason. It's probably my third favorite for the season. I don't know why, but I hope you guys liked the chapter.

Love ya!! ❤️❤️❤️