Partners in Crime - Max Mayfield

All Together Again

By the time the police had arrived to the wreckage, Chris was long gone. 

Almost everything was destroyed in Chris' emotional breakdown. The only things that had managed to survive was a picture of Chris, James, and Silva, a locket Max had given to him, and a 2 pairs of clothes, along with his bloody shirt and pants that he was currently wearing: although they had clearly seen better days. Chris walked through the woods that were located behind the wreckage of his house as he headed to the only place, he'd know everyone would be located. His walk was slow paced and somber and his body was slumped as he moved toward his destination. His once uninjured hand was now injured; a rebound effective from overusing his destructive powers but if he cared, it didn't show on his face. His eyes were red and his cheeks were stained with his tears. He no longer had any tears left to cry, now Chris just felt numb.

Chris continues to walk until he arrives at the Wheeler's house. Not wanting to deal with Mr. and Ms. Wheeler, he uses the back door and heads into the basement, collapsing onto the sofa and passing out as soon as his face hit the cushioned seat. 

"Good Afternoon, I'm Andrew Springs, this afternoon a massive earthquake hit the small town of Hawkins though, shockingly, only one house was hit by the devastating attack. The earthquake hit the house of 18 Ginger Street, which belonged to the Orlando family. The father, James Orlando and the son, Chris Orlando, moved into Hawkins just under a year ago. Police have tried to contact the father and son but believe that they were killed when the earthquake hit. The earthquake took out the entire house, almost leaving nothing but a gigantic crater. The real damage is behind the house where about 9600 acres of forest land has been destroyed. While we are truly saddened by the loss of the Orlando family, citizens of Hawkins should rest assured that this kind of freak earthquake, will ever happen again."

When Chris came to, he found himself in Max's lap. She was brushing her hand through his hair while the others were talking with each other or searching for the Mind Flayer. "It can't be good for her to be in there for this long." "Mike you need to relax." Max stops brushing her hand through Chris' hair and looks at Mike, who is pacing, waiting for El to finish searching. "What if she gets brain damage or something?" Mike asks and Lucas looks up "Oh shit..Is that like, a real thing?" Max shakes her head. "No, it's not, Mike made it the hell up, he doesn't know what he's talking about." Mike sneers at her "Oh and you do?"

The two begin to bicker more and more with Chris slowly coming to it. He feels himself being lifted and then placed back down again before the argument between Max and Mike ropes in the older teens. "Okay can you guys settle an argument for us?" Max, Mike, and Lucas walk over to Nancy, Jonathan, and Will. "Who do you think should decide El's limits? Mike or Eleven?" Mike rolls his eyes "The way you frame that is such bullshit!" "It's not bullshit Mike! This is your whole problem! And it's also the exact reason why she decided to dump your ass!" "El dumped you?" Nancy asks in confusion and Mike glares at Max "Yeah, cuz she is conspiring against me! She corrupting her!" Max rolls her eyes "No, enlightening her." Will looks at Lucas in confusion and he just shakes his head. 

"The fact is, she's not yours, she's her own person. And she's fully capable of making her own decisions." "She's risking her life for no reason." "For no reason?" Nancy raises an eyebrow "Mike, the Flayed are out there doing God knows what- "Killing, flaying" Lucas lists off "Transforming into monsters." Will adds and Nancy continues "And El's not stupid. She knows her limits better than any of us." Mike closes his eyes with a sigh and Max nods "Exactly, thank you." "And she's her own person, with her own free will." "Exactly, El has saved the world twice, and Mike still doesn't trust her." Mike's eyes widen "You want to talk about trust, really? After you made El spy on us?" "Wait? What?" Lucas asks and Mike raises an eyebrow "Oh she didn't tell you?" Mike turns toward Max and points a finger at Max. "She made El spy on us!" Max glares and shakes her head rapidly "No, no, no I did not make her, it was her idea. And why are we even talking about this seriously?" Will nods "Yeah, who cares?" "I care!" Lucas says and Mike glances at Will "Yeah I guess girlfriends don't lie, they spy!" Mike spins and glares at Max. "We were just joking around!" "Wouldn't it have been so funny if I was taking a massive shit or something?" Max rolls her eyes "You weren't" "But what if I was?" "Then gross!" Nancy sighs "Seriously Mike?" "I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven's powers. In fact, how careless all of you are." The group looks at Mike in confusion "You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off of the face of the Earth. So can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can't lose her again!"

The group stares at Mike in silence and Mike's face flushes at all of them staring at him. "Well, that's nice to hear." Mike, Max, and the others whirl toward the couch where Chris stands. His body was leaning on the couch heavily, but he was still standing. His skin was slightly pale and eye bags sunk the skin under his eyes. "Chris!" Max rushes toward Chris and the two hug tightly with Chris sinking into her. "Hey Mad Max.." Max begins to cry and the rest of the group watch silently. "I thought you were dead I..you didn't pick up your walkie and then..the news..I thought that..but then we found you on the couch!" Max looks at Chris "What happened?" Chris looks at Max before glancing at everyone else. "We..have a lot to catch up on..and we don't have a lot of time." Nancy nods just as El enters, glancing at everyone, with her gaze staying on Chris before looking at Mike. "What's going on?" "Nothing, nothing" "Just a family discussion" Lucas chimes in with a smile and El nods "Oh..I found him." El says, speaking toward Nancy who gives the girl a confused look "Found who?"