Rhiannon // Max Mayfield

2: the pool boys

The next day rolled around and Alex felt even worse than the day before, waking up and throwing up immediately. The sick stopped but Alex looked down, still feeling heavier than she was a week ago and forced her fingers down her throat, leaning back over the toilet again. This had become common habit over the past few weeks, the feeling and smell not affecting her that much anymore.

It was a bad habit and she knew that but it was the only way to please herself, and please her Mom, she was always saying how she had a perfect body when she was Alex's age.

She went over to the mirror, lifting her shirt to look, that was better, her stomach seemed flatter, the lines of her abs more visible. She walked back to her room, pulling out black denim shorts, a random AC/DC tee she stole from Atlas and cropped and a flannel she stole from Steve at some point.

She looked down to her wrist, grabbing a red bandanna and tying it around her wrist, making sure it was fastened tight.

She looked at the time, Shit. She was meant to be at Dustin's in fifteen minutes, it was at least a five minute skate but she needed to pick something up on the way. She would have to be quick. She left the house quickly, scribbling a note for her parents and or brothers, no ideas as to where they even were.

She grabbed her skateboard, luckily it was discarded on the front lawn already, having been ditched there last night.

~~

It was only a quick detour into the forest, Alex ditched her skateboard against a random tree and sprinted through the woodlands. She pulled a key off the chain on her belt and opened the letterbox, left in the middle of the woods.

Inside was a pack of cigarettes, Alex smiled at it. Also knowing this was a bad habit she had picked up to deal with everything but whatever.

She ran back out the woods, lighting up one of the cigs as she jumped back on her board and finished down to Dustin's praying the boy wasn't home yet.

~~

She was late to Dustin's obviously, the rest of them had already been there for five minutes once she arrived. Alex didn't care too much through and just ignored them as they moaned at her, standing against the wall and waiting for Dustin.

~~

Eleven started moving Dustin's toys in his room with her mind. Catching his attention and freaking him out. He grabbed the Farah Fawcett spray off his dresser and held it out in front of himself as a defence.

"It's just a dream," Dustin says to himself in reassurance as he followed the parade of toys out to the hall and into his living room, "You're just dreaming."

Alex heard Mike whisper, "now," to Eleven, giving her the signal to stop moving the toys.

They all slowly crept out from behind Dustin as he leant down to examine his toys, thinking they had been possessed or something. Mike held up his fingers, one... two... three.

"Surprise!" They all yelled, Dustin screamed and turned around, spraying his hairspray directly into Lucas' eyes, making the boy scream.

The rest of the party stepped back trying to hold back their laughter as Dustin kept spraying Lucas for like five seconds.

When Dustin stopped, everyone laughed, rushing over to the boy to welcome him back, everyone joining in on a group hug except from Lucas as he was holding his eyes open.