talk too much | max mayfield

31. d&d ditch

D&D DITCH

✧･ﾟ: * The last thing Eleanor Harrington expected to do when the school year started up again in the fall was try-out for the cheerleading squad.

Actually, scratch that- the last thing she expected was to actually get accepted onto the team.

A close second would be making out with Annie Cunningham on a daily basis after practice.

. . . Let's rewind.

After. . . the mall incident. . . Nora and her friends were dreading starting school up again in t-2 weeks. Will and El had moved to some random town in California (California! Can you believe?!), Max totally dissipated from everyone, and the original party minus Will joined Eddie Munson's infamous Dungeons and Dragons club, Hellfire.

Lucas started distancing himself too, deciding he wanted to be a part of popular kids group, and instead targeted more and more of his free time into basketball.

He decided the world of the populars was too unknown for him to venture into alone, so when he extended his promise of eternal awesomeness to Nora, she obviously had to accept - and learn how to backflip (but she's always been flexible so it wasn't too bad).

During this time, Max just started getting more and more distant from the group - from Nora.

They never really officially "broke up" but then again they were never really "a thing" considering, like, laws. But they would skateboard together and get each other gifts and when Steve and Robin started working at a VHS store, they would meet up there as often as possible to look up random people's names and make fun of their taste in movies - but Max slowly stopped showing up to their "dates," and when Nora tried stopping by her house, her mom would always say she was "out" or "asleep."

By now, a week before spring break, Max was barely even a part of the group, Nora and Lucas only really hung out with Dustin and Mike during campaigns (that Nora spends the entire time telling Eddie how stupid his storylines are), and Nora makes out with Annie Cunningham after cheer practices before Steve comes to pick her and Robin up.

"-then there's Heidi tomorrow night, but the problem with Heidi is that she's going out of state for college. Do I wanna start another relationship that has no point other than sex?"

"Ew," Nora doesn't look up from the science homework she should've done last night as she listens to Steve rant about his girls problems to Robin on their way to school for the pep rally.

"I mean, I don't know. Does that make sense?" Steve ignores his little sister to ask Robin who's very caught up in her eye makeup.

"She's not listening," Nora squints her eyes at number 3 as if that'll magically give her the answer, adjusting in her seat at the itchiness of her cheer uniform.

"No, yeah. I mean, yeah, I am," Robin doesn't falter in her mascara.

"What did I just say?" Steve stares at her.

"Something about sex with Linda."

"Heidi," Nora mumbles to save her, still scribbling random things on her paper.

"Heidi! I'm talking about Heidi!" Steve looks exasperated.

"Cut me some slack, please," Robin shakes her head and goes back to her makeup. "Your love life is one of labyrinthine complexity, it's 7:00 in the morning, we have this stupid pep rally-"

"It's not stupid," Nora finally moves onto number 4.

"-and I woke up looking like a corpse," she drags her hands across her face.

"You're worried about a pep rally? You expect me to believe that?" Steve stares.

"Yeah, so?" Robin avoids eye contact.

"So?" Steve mocks. "We all know what this is about."

"Vickie!" Nora exclaims, but mostly only because she only has one question left.

"This is about Vickie," Steve nods along as Robin speaks over him.

"Absolutely not."

"It is. You know what else?"

"I don't care-" they continue talking over each other while Nora realizes she's the dumbest person alive and erases all her work for number 5.

"-people who like boobies, Robin!" Nora finally looks  up at Steve's outburst.

"Ew," both her and Robin say at the same time.

"Why'd you say boobies?" Nora scolds her brother.

"Gross, don't say boobies," Robin winces simultaneously.

"Boobies," Steve says over the two. "Not a big deal, okay? I like boobies, Nora likes boobies-"

"Oh, god."

"You like boobies. Vickie likes boobies."

Nora puts her worksheet away and accepts she'll just fail science while Robin just shakes her head.

"It's boobies!" Steve exclaims and Nora groans.

They arrive at the school eventually, cutting off Steve's reminiscing on Linda. Lucy? Lauren? Nora doesn't actually remember but she can't get out of the car fast enough to catch up with Annie and the rest of the squad before they go into the gym.

—

✧･ﾟ: * "Let's hear it for the tigers!"

Nora shakes her pompoms around as the basketball team runs out the gym floor, still slightly out of breath from her previous exertion.

She grins at Lucas as he comes out and he blows her a kiss which she catches dramatically.

Everyone on the basketball team and cheer squad kinda expect the two to be dating, considering they spend the most time together (shared trauma will do that), but the two could literally never see each other as more than just friends.

Sure, they may or may not have shared a kiss during spin the bottle at the Carver's winter house over Christmas break, but everyone kisses their best friends, y'know?

Anyway, Nora immediately winces - and zones out - as Jason Carver, the team captain starts yelling into the microphone.

He goes on and on about school spirit and whatnot, and then for some reason starts talking about the lives that have been lost in Hawkins.

He lists out a bunch names, a pit growing in Nora's stomach at each one; she tries looking back at Max when Jason says Billy, but there are too many people in the crowd, and she's sure Max doesn't want anyone looking at her anyway.

Jason then goes on to make it super inspirational and Nora has to give her obligatory cheer.

"You excited for tonight?" Annie mumbles to Nora over the crowd and as Jason goes on and on and on and on.

"Hm?" Nora looks over to look at the strawberry blonde beside her. The campaign?

"The game, Nor?"

Oh, shit. "Oh, yeah! Of course," she smiles over at Annie to get her off her tracks. "Can't wait. . ."

a/n:
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