The Day You Saved Me // Elmax AU

TWO: Secret Meetings

I stared at her with wide eyes. This girl I just met told me everything... the lab, Dr. Brenner, the abuse... all of it. I may have only just met her, but rage boiled inside of me. What kind of monster would ever do that to a child? I balled my fists, looking at her with a face full of sympathy. I wanted to hug her, tell her everything would be alright, 'cause I know I would want someone to do that to me. But no one ever does.

So I just looked at her, feeling her anger as well as mine inside my chest. "El... I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve any of that. Okay?" I let out a sigh. If I ever meet this "Brenner" guy, I'll beat him to death with my skateboard.

El just nodded, avoiding my gaze. I put my hand on her shoulder, hoping she'd look up at me. Thankfully, she did, and she didn't look scared, thank God. "I'm serious." My voice was firm as I spoke to her. "Look, if anything, your little gang should beat his ass. I would gladly join in, too."

She shook her head, slowly shoving Max's hand off of her shoulder and looking at her with irritated brown eyes. "No!" she snapped. "Papa is dead. He won't hurt me anymore! He... won't..." She let out a sigh. "I am sorry. He was just so bad. I don't want to think about him being alive."

I blinked at her with a stunned gaze. Did she not know whether or not he was really dead? I shook my head. I won't talk to her about it anymore if it makes her uncomfortable. "Well," I began, sitting down onto the grass. El looked at me for a few seconds before reluctantly sitting down next to me. I smiled. "What are your friends' names?"

Her eyes brightened, as if the topic made her happy. I held back a relieved sigh. "Oh!" A small smile was plastered on her face as she started to talk. "Well, I have a sister—well, she's not my real sister, but she's like one—she was in the lab with me. She's Eight, I'm Eleven, like I told you. Her name is Kali. She has superpowers like me!" The goth girl turned to me, her eyes bright with excitement. I gazed at her for a few moments, hating the thoughts that started appearing in my mind. Yeah, brain, could you stop calling her 'cute' for five seconds? Thanks.

"And then, there's Funshine, Dottie, Mick, and Axel. They're more of Kali's friends, but they are nice to me, too." She fidgeted with her hands as she spoke. "We hurt the bad men together."

I know I should be a little freaked out at the fact that she said that so casually, but all I did was giggle. Even if these people were murderers, it wasn't any of my business, I guess. I mean, these "bad men" obviously deserved it, considering what El told me. "That's cool." My blue eyes gazed up at the abandoned—well, formerly abandoned—house. "Do you guys, like... live here now, or what?"

"Yes." El nodded her head slightly. Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked at me with a frightened gaze. "Please don't tell anyone. My friends will be hurt." Her eyes sharpened. "If my friends get hurt, you get hurt." She moved her hand a bit.

I blinked, my eyes wide. Okay, I was definitely scared of her now. "Okay, okay!" I gasped, a scared smile on my face. "I promise I won't tell anyone. Alright?"

Her shoulders relaxed at my answer with a content smile. "Friends don't lie, Max. Do you lie?"

I don't know why, but my heart fluttered when she said I was a friend. Did she already think of me as such? Ugh, shut up, Max! You're being ridiculous. "I don't lie, El. I promised you, and I'll keep that promise."

"Good." She leaned away from me and went back to her normal position on the ground. She looked away awkwardly for a few moments, before opening her mouth to speak. "So, you said that Mike was an... asshole... to you?" She tilted her head ever so slightly. "Is he mean?"

I scoffed. "Hell yes. He despises me, he literally refuses to let me do shit around them." I crossed my arms, all of my anger towards him piling out all at once. I don't care how much El likes this douchebag, but I'll make my anger towards him very clear if I have to. "I doubt that he'll ever like me. I just... wanted some friends, I guess. Lucas and Dustin are nice, I barely know anything about Will, though. It's just Mike who doesn't want me there."