talk too much | max mayfield

41. gates and girlfriends

GATES AND GIRLFRIENDS

✧･ﾟ: * "Mordor it is," Eddie stands up to walk towards Dustin who may as well be leading them on a wild goose chase.

Before Nora can express her distaste, Eddie's arm comes around her shoulders, forcing her to stumble along with him behind the path Dustin's creating.

"Is this 'wanted fugitive' stuff driving you insane?" She wraps an arm around the waist of his denim vest to hold herself upright better.

"Just a little, mini Harrington." Max then comes up beside the two on the other side of Nora. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," Eddie straightens the arm around Nora but doesn't remove it from her shoulders. "Edward Munson."

"Maxine Mayfield," Max shakes his hand awkwardly before using her other to interlock her fingers with Nora's.

Eddie doesn't hide his surprise at this movement and shoots Nora a look to which she just shoves him slightly.

"When'd you get so touchy anyway?" Nora refers back to the hug they'd shared earlier too. "I always thought you hated me."

"Nah," Eddie shakes his head, his curls with him. "I was just intimidated."

"By a girl being better at D&D than you?" Nora pretends to not be surprised at this revelation.

"By a little freshman being almost as good at D&D as me," Eddie clarifies. "Steve 'The Hair' Harrington's little sister no less," he then adds.

"Please don't boost his ego too much," Nora looks back to see how far Steve actually is behind them. "No one even calls him that."

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie waves it off. "Well, I'm sorry no less, for making you think I hated you. You know I love you mini 'The Hair' Harrington."

"I'll only forgive you if you stop it with that," Nora tries to maintain a straight face as Eddie lets out a real laugh. "Go bother Dustin."

"Yes, ma'am," Eddie only grins before slipping his arm off Nora's shoulders to repeat the action a few steps ahead with Dustin.

"He's. . ." Max tries finding the right words, and Nora just leans into her more, still riding on the high from the half kiss they shared earlier and overly comfortable feeling in her new jacket.

"Yeah," Nora releases their hands to put an arm around Max's shoulder, not unlike the action Eddie shared with her earlier. "You like fireworks, Mayfield?"

"Don't even," Max just shakes her head with a grin on her face.

"What? You're allowed to reuse lines and I'm not?" Nora teases with a mock frown on her face.

"I missed this. I missed you," Max gets serious for a moment and Nora is surprised she hasn't physically melted. "And, y'know, I meant what I said in the cemetery before."

Nora knows exactly what she's talking about, but doesn't want to seem too desperate, so she takes the nonchalant road instead. "Hm?"

Max gives her a look that allows Nora to know the redhead sees right through her, but repeats the words again nonetheless. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mayfield," then not allowing the situation to get too mushy and romantic. "Despite the fact I feel like you hate me sometimes."

"I'm sorry about all that," Max isn't done with the seriousness yet. "I'm working on it, I promise."

—

✧･ﾟ: * "Dustin, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'ahh,'" Robin speaks into the walkie talkie as Lucas, Nora, Dustin, and Max watch Robin, Eddie, Nancy, and Steve row out into the lake as Dustin's compass has lead them to a gate that must be in there.

The four watch from the shore line, and Nora immediately covers her eyes and looks away as she watches Steve take his shirt off. Gross.

"When did Steve get so hairy?" Lucas asks as he looks through the binoculars.

"Right!" Dustin agrees passionately. "I keep telling him needs to tame that jungle, but he claims the ladies dig it," the two shrug.

"They don't," Nora's facing the water again but her eyes are still shut tight.

"Let me see," Nora looks at Max betrayed as she watches the redhead take the binoculars from Lucas.

She expects her to hand them back after looking at the practically R-rated sight, but then shoots the redhead and open-mouthed look as she holds the binoculars in front of her eyes for an extended amount of time.

"Y'know," Dustin starts after a few seconds go by since Steve went underwater. "If there's a gate down there, it's technically a water gate." The other three shoot him emotionless looks. "Watergate!" He chuckles a little.

"Dustin," a solid minute later, Steve finally comes up and robin's voice comes through the walkie talkie. "You are a goddamn little genius. Steve found the gate-"

The four on land immediately shoot up as they hear police sirens in the distance.

"Cops," Nora and Max mumble at the same time.

"Shit, shit, shit," Dustin whispers.

"We can't let them find Eddie," Lucas looks around as if a tree branch could help them.

"Stay with me," Max stands up suddenly.

"What? What are you doing?" Nora tugs at the redhead's hand.

"Hey, officers!"

"Max!" Nora whisper shouts. "What the hell?!" Is she trying to get herself arrested??

"Over here, I found the killer!"

"Max, shh," the guys also try frantically to get her to stop, but it's practically too late now.

"This way!" She then runs off away from the lake and Nora, Dustin and Lucas have no choice but to follow.

"Stop!" Nora hears an officer calling as the two chase them through the woods. "Get back here, you little rats!"

Dustin trips behind a rock, but as the other three try turning around to get him to go again, they see the chief having already grabbed him.

"Hey there."

a/n:
it's kinda weird to think about how they're like 6 years old but i think the shared trauma thing makes the i love you thing valid yk... also there may or may not only be like 2 more chapters left in this part so let me let them have their moments