Stranger Things One-Shots and Imagines

Defend the friendship

ELEVEN
Max was visiting me and Will in California. Mike had been here a week ago and he left the day before Max came.

I was excited to see Max. Since Billy's death, I wanted to make sure she was okay. Unfortunately, making sure she was okay was difficult considering the long distance. One thing I knew would make Max feel better was some roller skating. Mike and I roller skated for a good hour or two, but I took Mike somewhere else when Angela and her friends showed up.

Max was excited to roller skate. She hadn't been skating since Billy died and she wanted something fun to do. Jonathan's friend Argyle drove Max and I to the roller rink. Jonathan and Will were going to spend the day at the movies, so Argyle drove all of us to our respective activites.

We were about 5 minutes away from the roller rink when Will turned to me.

"El, please promise me that you'll leave the roller rink if Angela shows up." Will asked as I looked at him.

"Sure." I smiled. In all honesty, I wasn't going to leave if Angela showed up. I'd ignore her to the best of my ability, but I wasn't going to let her ruin my day with Max.

"Angela? Who's Angela?" Max asked as Will turned back around. Sighing, I spent the next few minutes explaining who Angela was and why Will warned me about her.

"I hate her already." Max laughed as we pulled up to the roller rink.

"El...be careful, okay?" Will smiled as max and I got out of the car. Nodding, Argyle pulled away, leaving Max and I to head inside.
———
Max and I had spent 3 hours skating to different songs. After a while, we both sat down to eat a snack, but what I didn't anticipate was Angela arriving at the roller rink. She found me over near the concession stand.

"Come on, friend." Angela grabbed my hand.

"I'll hold that." Her male friend took the chocolate milkshake out of my hand, allowing Angela to take me to the roller rink. I was nervous. Who knows what would happen. I hoped that max was around, and that she'd see me.

"Why are you so nervous? We're just having fun." Angela smirked, bringing you to the center of the rink.

"Stay put." She stopped smirking.

"Alright everyone. This next song is dedicated to Jane...the local snitch." A man stood at the DJ booth.

All of a sudden, the music started, scaring me. Angela and a bunch of her friends started circling me, throwing their hands out and insulting me. I couldn't take it. I covered my ears and closed my eyes, wanting this to all be over.

"Gonna cry to mommy?!" Angela laughed. I tried not to look at her. I was starting to slip. Watching Angela and her friends circle me was making me sick. I was so off balance that a small push could knock me over. Trying to stay upright and standing, I couldn't help but cry.

MAX
When I heard the man announce the next song, I started to get worried. I stood up, rolling over to the edge of the rink, watching as El stood in the center, being ridiculed and bullied by Angela and her friends.

"Hey!" I yelled as I rolled over to the DJ booth.

"Hey! Hey! Turn it off!" I demanded, watching as the DJ laughed.

"Sorry. I can't hear you, dude." The DJ laughed.

"I said turn it off, dipshit." I demanded once again.

"If you say so..." He smirked, immediately turning off the song.

I was worried when he turned it off so fast. Looking over at the rink, I panicked.

ELEVEN
"Wipeout!" The song finished before being turned offf.

Without warning, Angela skated up to me, throwing the chocolate milkshake that I had purchased all over me. It landed on the top of my dress and slightly on my face. Feeling the force of the throw, I slipped and fell to the ground, the light brightly shining on me. I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

"Didn't you see the sign, dummy? No food or drinks on the rink." Angela laughed as she took the empty milkshake cup and skated off.

My puffy eyes and cheeks were clearly visible since I'd been crying for the past 2-3 minutes. Struggling to get up and out of the rink, I could hear my name being called. I barely got off the floor, the crowd around me still laughing at me and the mess that had been made.

"El! El!" I could hear Max yelling as she made it onto the rink, but struggled to get past the massive crowd that had formed.

"Stop. No." I could barely say anything without being laughed at. The crowd separated as I skated toward the edge.

"El!" I could hear Max's voice again.

Within minutes, I felt a pair of arms grab me. Looking to my side, I saw Max.

"Let's get you cleaned up." She smiled, holding my hand as we rolled out of the rink, heading somewhere that was more private.

MAX
I left El to be alone while she cleaned herself up. I hated the idea of Angela being able to get away with embarrassing my best friend. Without El's knowledge, I went to find Angela. Luckily, she was easy to spot in a crowd.

"Angela." I sternly walked up to the her. Luckily, I was the same height as her.

"Do you need something?" Angela rudely asked. Yep. I definitely still hated her.

"You may not know me, but I certainly know you. Stay away from Jane or you'll deal with me." I hissed.

"Aww. Does Jane need her BFF to protect her? How pathetic." Angela asked, chuckling.

As Angela walked away, I tried to remain calm, but I couldn't. She had embarrassed and bullied my best friend. She needed to pay. Grabbing a roller skate, I gripped it angrily, following Angela.

"Angela!" I yelled, watching as Angela's attention was back to me. Without hesitation, I swung the roller skate, hitting Angela's face.

While hearing Angela scream in pain, I watched as blood spilled from the massive gash that I had left using the roller skate.

"You mess with Jane, you mess with me. Understand?" I hissed at Angela, who wasn't able to move her head without crying in pain.

Angela looked between me and the massive amount of blood on her hand after exiting the gash located between the middle of her forehead and the bridge of her nose.

"She understands." One of Angela's friends replied, trying to escape me before I did anything else.

Before the police arrived, El took me out of the roller rink, trying to get me as far away from the scene as possible.

Getting a ride from Argyle, we got into his car. Usually, someone would regret what I had just done. They'd at least feel a little guilty. Surprisingly, I didn't. I didn't feel an ounce of guilt as Argyle drove us to El's place.

In all honesty, this whole situation with Angela reminded me of the night that I threatened Billy using a bat with nails hammered into it. Both Billy and Angela were bullying someone I cared about. Billy was going to use brute force and Angela used embarrassment. In order for me to prevent any futher bullying, I had to do something extreme. For Billy, I injected him with a sleeping agent before hitting the floor between his legs with the bat. For Angela I used brute force by whacking her in the face with a roller skate.

And did I feel any sort of guilt for either situation? No way.