Hysterical {Maxine Mayfield} COMPLETED

Max VS. Sidewalk

TW// Mentions of sexual abuse, SH scars, suicidal thoughts

"You're finally home, you're late." Joyce said to Jane when she walked in with Lukas, about an hour later than usual.

"Sorry Joyce!" Jane apologized. "We wanted to stop at Max's house...to tell her mom she's okay."

"What?" Joyce didn't like the sound of that. "I'm sure I could call Susan and tell her myself. That house is not a safe environment, you shouldn't be going there."

"I know but...we also wanted to cheer Max up." Jane took the skateboard from Lukas and presented it. "she'll be so excited..."

Joyce's expression softened. "Who's idea was it?"

"Hers." Lukas pointed to Jane truthfully.

Jane rolled her eyes and sighed. "It was my idea, but he went along with it."

Joyce tried to laugh it off, but she was worried about them going alone to Susan's house. "Don't do it again, I'm serious Jane. It was a nice thought, but it's dangerous."

"Billy wasn't home, so it was fine." Jane mumbled and put down her backpack. "Where's Max?"

"She's in the basement with Will." Joyce put Jane's things away neatly before going back to the kitchen table to do some paperwork.

Jane and Lukas looked at each other. "At least we know he's not into girls?" Jane shrugged.

Lukas rolled his eyes playfully at her before leading the way to the basement. He was familiar enough with the house to know how to get to it.

As the duo made their way down the basement steps, they heard light chatting and soft laughter. They both stopped and crouched at the bottom step. They peaked around the small wall that was blocking their view.

Will was sitting on the floor, mixing paints for a painting he wanted to start.

Max was sitting on the couch, leaning back comfortably. She was wearing a hoodie she stole from Jane, but the sleeves were rolled up. Her scars were just out in the open.

Jane and Lukas knew better, but couldn't fight the urge. They sneakily listened in on their conversation.

"How long does it usually take you to complete a painting?" Max asked causally.

Will thought about it. "hm...it really depends. I have a lot of work to catch up on, so this could take me weeks."

"I got nothing but time..." Max yawned. "When do you think Jane will be home?"

"I don't know...she probably went somewhere with Mike after school." Will guessed.

"Maybe? Doesn't it feel weird that she's still seeing him after what he did to you?" Max asked.

"It hurts, yeah...but Jane is just... different. She's easily manipulated. Plus she's been with Mike for a long time, I understand why she still has feelings for him." Will started mixing the paint more aggressively now that he was thinking about Mike.

"Just know that if it were Lukas that did that to you, I would of helped you kill him myself." Max joked to lighten the mood.

"Thanks..." Will set his paint down. "Are you going to talk to Lukas today?"

"I don't know...I'm kind of glad he didn't show up after school." Max sighed.

"You should talk to him. He would understand. It's not like he actually did anything." Will shrugged and got up to fetch a canvas.

"I know...it just hurts. Lukas was my safety. Now thanks to a stupid nightmare I feel uncomfortable thinking about him. It was so vivid..." Max shuddered.