Alex had to wear a turtleneck to hide the hickeys along his neck and collarbone. The good thing about it was that he didn't look half bad, but it was still frustrating.
He had about an hour before Max got here. She had called and told him that she wanted to get to know him better, and he agreed. His mom and Ron probably wouldn't be too keen on having a girl over, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was Ron telling his mom about what he saw. He knew Ron definitely was trying to get along with him for his mom, but that went to shit as soon as he saw Alex in bed with another boy. He tried not to think about it, almost flinching as he watched him stab his food and shove it in his mouth.
"You'll poke a hole in your tongue if you keep doing that, y'know," he said, taking a bite of his eggs. His mother glared at him, but Ron just fake smiled and set his fork down.
"Speaking of tongues-" He was cut off, thank god, as somebody walked into the house. Justin smiled, but Maggie and Ron jumped. The two of them got up, walking over to Max and giving her a small hug.
"The party's here!" She said, bowing. Alex laughed, hearing somebody clear their throat from behind him.
"I got to go, I'm going to meet up with Lucas and Dustin." Justin said, ignoring the two adults who began to ask questions. They waved goodbye, about to walk up the stairs when his mom stopped him, making him groan softly.
"Alex, who is this?" She asked sweetly.
"This is Max, one of me and Justin's friends," he said happily, only to be shot down by Ron.
"You have friends?" Ron laughed, earning a slap on the shoulder from Maggie. Alex looked down, pretending that he didn't care, chuckling. Although he did, and Max saw through him like a straw goes through the cap of a smoothie.
"Hey, I don't know what your problem is, but that was really uncalled for," she paused, looking at him for another minute before snapping her fingers. "You must me Ron! I mean, Alex has talked about his stepdad, and I'm assuming that's you because I don't see any other assholes here-"
"Okay! We'll be in my room," he said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her up the stairs and into his room. As soon as they entered, he sighed loudly, pulling off his turtleneck and throwing it on his dresser. "Jesus that's so uncomfortable, I'm not even sure why I have that in the first place." He said. He saw Max looking at him with wide eyes and a smile, laughing lightly.
"I'm not staring at your chest, I'm staring at all of those hickeys!" She said, walking over to him as he looked at the door making it lock.
"Yeah, uhm, I need to tell you something," he said, grabbing a shirt and throwing it over his head as he dragged her to the bed.
So he told her. He told her everything, because he felt like he could trust these people with anything. He told her about the slow motion and the connection. He told her about what happened between him and Mike. He told her that Mike broke up with Eleven because he wanted him. He told her how horrible he felt for splitting the two up, no matter how many times Mike had told him that it wasn't his fault. He told her how Ron caught him and Mike during a really hot make out session. He told her how he was scared that Mike was just going to leave him when he got bored. He told her how he was scared that Ron was going to tell his mom what he saw, and he almost did before she entered (which she responded with, "You know I always save the day, Al!"). He told her how he wanted to have a serious conversation with Mike. He told her how he was scared about this whole Upside Down thing. He told her how he was scared because he's the one in the most amount of danger. He told her how he just wanted to be a normal kid with a normal life, and maybe even a girlfriend. He told her how he hated himself and he had serious issues and this didn't help. He told her how he was really really fucking scared.
"How about this? How about, we go to StarCourt mall," she suggested, and Alex nodded. They got up walking towards the door until Alex stopped them.
"What about my hickeys? I can't wear that fucking thing." He said, pointing to the turtleneck. She nodded.
"Just follow my lead, okay? Stand behind me," she said, watching him nod as they unlocked the door and walked down the stairs. They started walking towards the front door, almost making it before Ron called out and asked,
"Where are you two heading?" He asked from the couch. Before Max could say something, Alex responded for her.
"Out," he scowled, walking out of the front door with Max. They walked down the steps and got on their bikes, Alex looking at Max with curiosity. "What are we going to do?" He asked as they started pedaling down the street, earning a laugh from the redhead next to him.
"We're going shopping!"
------
When they arrived at the mall, they put their bikes in the rack and walked towards the front doors. When he walked in, looking around, his jaw practically dropped to the floor.
"This place is fucking huge!" He said. Max laughed, looking at him with bright eyes.
"Okay, how about first, we look for some clothes?" She asked, and Alex nodded eagerly, following her towards some of the shops. When they walked into the first shop, a smile quickly grew on Alex's face as they looked around. He walked around the shop, looking around at all the clothes.
They spent most of the day at the mall and halfway through, Alex had stopped in front of Victorious Secret. He told Max that he would be right back, that he just wanted to look around and see what all the fuss was about. While he was looking around, something caught his eye, and he stopped. He examined the object, a blush on his face as he picked it up. Without thinking, he walked over to the checkout line and bought the object, trying to ignore the stares from the cashier. He ended up telling her that it was for his girlfriend, and luckily she believed him, imagine being gay in the '80s. When he came out of the shop, he saw Max sitting on a bench, waiting for him. He nodded, causing her to smile and grab his hand, dragging him down to a shop labeled 'SCOOPS AHOY!'.
"Hey, mom!" She called, and Alex looked at her confused. They walked up to the counter, seeing a man standing behind the register. He rolled his eyes, laughing lightly and looking at Max with a knowing look.
"This Alex? I met Justin earlier, do I have two more kids?" He asked. Then it clicked. This must be Steve, so he knows. He smiled, waving at him and saying a small hello.
"Harrington, what's playing today? Oh, and you know my order," she said, and Steve rolled his eyes. He got her a cone, looking at Alex curiously.
"One, Better Off Dead is out. Two, what would you like," he asked. Alex thought about it, looking at the flavors before deciding on chocolate. He nodded and made up the cone before handing it to Alex. Max walked over to the small caralle door and pushed it open, waving her hand for Alex to follow her. Steve brought them through another door to a room with a bunch of ice cream and a freezer. Yet again, they walked through a door and into a hallway, hearing Steve shout from behind them. "If anybody finds out about this-!"
"We're dead, yeah yeah. Come on Alex." She said, dragging him down the hallway. She brought him to a door, opening it and showing them into a movie theater. They walked into one of the rooms that said 'BETTER OFF DEAD' on it. They sat down, watching as the movie started playing.
