i love you ➵ elmax

V

She's gone.

After saying goodbye to Eleven and Will, Max left Mike's house. Now that she arrived at her place she opens the door and quietly makes her way to her room where she tosses herself on the bed. She grabs her pillow to rest her head on it and stares out of the window.

El is really gone. The past two days feel like a dream. As if it didn't even happen. But they also left a mark on Max. A positive mark.

She's sad that Eleven left again but the conversations and moments she had with her gave the redhead a new strength to keep going.

"I'll call you tonight. Promise," Eleven said earlier right before getting into the car.

Having faith in the brunette's promise, Max gets up to grab the telephone to plug it in as soon as she gets to her room again.

She lays down on her bed again to watch the leaves and the raindrops. She doesn't know where her parents are and she doesn't care. She can't think of anything other than Eleven who is in the car at this exact moment, driving further and further away from Max, leaving her behind. Wanting to distract herself from this awful thought that causes her nothing but utter sadness she thinks about the upcoming call that Eleven promised her. Max closes her eyes.

She is awakened by the sound of the telephone ringing. She quickly gets up to walk over to the wall where it is plugged in to get it before her parents hear anything. It's already getting darker outside and a quick glance at the clock tells Max that it's 7 pm.

"Hello?" she says carefully.

"Max? Hi, it's me. El. How are you?" Eleven answers with an excited tone in her voice.

"Hey, El. I'm alright but how are you? How was the car ride?"

"It was okay but really long. I was so glad when we finally arrived. I just had dinner but I didn't finish because I was too excited to call you."

Max can't help but smile at El's words.

"I was waiting the whole day for you to call. I'm glad you did. You kept your promise," she says.

"Of course I did. Best friends keep their promises."

The girls continue talking for two hours when suddenly Max hears someone scream Eleven's name. "Shut up. I'm trying to sleep," Will yells, causing Eleven to laugh even harder. They have been laughing for the past five minutes since El told Max about a funny teacher at her new school. Max can't help but giggle at Will's reaction. "Geez, let the poor boy sleep, El," she laughs quietly. "Okay, okay, sorry," Eleven says. Max can tell that El is smiling because of the tone of her voice.

"I have a presentation tomorrow. In front of the whole class. I have never done that before," Eleven says hesitantly.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do amazing. It'll be alright. It's weird speaking in front of the whole class. I know that but I believe you can do it," Max says. "I'm scared I'll forget something," Eleven sighs. Max stops to think for a second. "How about you show me your presentation right now. You know, to practice," she then suggests. "But you can't see the pictures I have to show the class," Eleven says. "That's fine. Just tell me what you have to say," Max says. Eventually El agrees and starts her presentation.

Fifteen minutes later she's done and waits for Max's reaction. "That was amazing. I would clap right now but I don't want to wake anyone up. But El, that was so good. Really. I'm so proud of you. You'll kill it tomorrow!" the redhead says, her lips forming a smile that Eleven can't see but most definitely hear from the tone of Max's voice.

"Kill it? Who?" Eleven asks in shock.

"No, no, not literally!" Max can't help but laugh at the other girl's reaction. "It means that you'll do amazing and everyone will be blown away by your presentation!"

"Blown away?" Eleven asks skeptically.

"They'll think you did great. They will be amazed."

"Oh, good," Eleven giggles.

"Yeah," Max laughs quietly.

They end up talking about their favorite subjects. Max likes P.E. the most, Eleven prefers math. "I like numbers," she explains. "I'm sure you do," Max says, laughing at the irony. "Huh, why?" Eleven asks.

"Because your name is a number!"

"Oh," Eleven whispers before letting out the loudest possible laugh. "Shhhhh," Max hisses.
But Eleven continues laughing for what feels like five minutes. "Come on, shut up. It wasn't even that funny. Stop laughing," Max says, not being able to stop laughing either, even though her laughter is just a quiet giggle because she is afraid to wake someone up. "I can't stop," Eleven giggles, trying to catch her breath. After five more minutes she is calm again. "Did you wake up Will?" Max asks. "No, he's sleeping," Eleven says. "Good," Max says with a small smile.

They talk about school for a little while and eventually change the subject to music. "Will has shown me The Clash. I like it a lot," Eleven says. "They're cool, yeah. Don't tell anyone but I like calmer songs that you can just be sad to and perhaps cry to. It just makes me feel understood. My favorite is Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You by Stevie Nicks. You should definitely check it out if you want to cry. It's a great song to listen to when you miss someone," she says. "I promise, I won't tell anyone. I haven't heard it yet but I will. I'll think of you when I do," Eleven says, making Max's heart beat faster for no reason. At least that is what Max tells herself. There's no reason to feel nervous or whatever that feeling is. Stop it, she thinks.

She looks across the room when she notices the time. "El, it's late!"

"Oh my God, it is! We have been talking for so long."

"You need to sleep. You have a presentation tomorrow."

"Okay, okay but you need to sleep, too."

"I will. Good luck on your presentation. You'll do great."

"Thank you. I'll call you tomorrow. Is that okay?"

That is more than just okay. That is amazing.

"Of course, it is," Max says, trying to hide her excitement.

"Okay. Good night, Max."

"Good night, El."

She hangs up. With a smile on her face she goes to the bath room to brush her teeth. When she walks over to her room again, she lays on her bed, closing her eyes. Eleven's voice is still echoing in her head. It feels like she can still hear the girl's laughter. Hoping that she will see her again soon, the redhead falls asleep.