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“Do you ever get used to it?”
Max looks at Mike, who is not looking at her. He is looking at the road.
The two of them hanging out on their own would’ve been unheard of before the Byers had moved. But what made everybody drift apart from each other somehow had made Max and Mike get closer.
Ew! Not like that! Sure they’re both bi, but they have eyes for other people! Geez, people these days, with the push on romance…
Anyways, them hanging out at first had been out of boredom. And not the viscous, heavy kind. The kind that made them both understimulated and snappy. Eventually Max offered to teach Mike to skate, and even though he still can’t do an ollie, or ride on uneven roads around Max’s house, it was something to do. Something to do, and a lot of opportunity to talk. And talk. And talk.
And now they know everything about each other. Like how Mike’s been in love with Will since before he met El and only realized after their move, and how Max sometimes wishes she had died instead of Billy at Starcourt.
Max sounds annoyed. They kind of always sound annoyed when they talk to each other. Old habits die hard.
“Get used to what?”
Mike sighs and leans more on his knees, playing with the wheels on Max’s board.
“Being a part of a dysfunctional family.”
Like I said, they know everything about each other! Like how Max moved here because of her parents’ divorce and how her stepdad treats her, especially now that Billy is gone, and how Mike’s recent behavioral issues since the Byers left town hasn’t exactly done wonders for his parents’ already struggling marriage.
Max is quiet for a minute.
“Kind of. You can forget sometimes? When things are kinda regular for a bit?” She looks into the road. “I don’t think about it much. Like that. I only really remember how fucked up it is when I see not -fucked up people. It’s weird.”
Mike is quiet, but now he’s looking at her, which Max can’t really decide is better or worse. But she keeps talking, so it can’t be that much worse, right?
“Like the first time I met Lucas’ parents. I know they aren’t perfect- I know nobody is. Really. But they were in love and normal and it was weird. It was like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole time. And then after about forty-five minutes I realized, ‘Oh! It’s the trauma!’ Which was a super awesome realization to come to at the Sinclair’s dining table.”
Mike is still quiet. And he’s still looking at her. And then he’s not- being quiet, I mean. He’s talking, and looking at Max and Around Max and everywhere in between.
“I think I had that. Before,” he looks at the ground and takes a deep breath, “before all the Upside Down stuff. One time I was at Will’s, and Jonathan asked about our campaign, which I was surprised he even knew about. And then he and Will got on about it for like, five minutes, but it was crazy in depth five minutes. And I realized nobody in my family could even remember what a Dungeon Master is, let alone what DnD stood for. And I- I know it’s not the same as your thing. That was so long ago, and stuff wasn’t even bad then, and Nancy’s cool now, and-”
Max bumps shoulders with him. It’s her nice way of shutting people up. Sometimes people just don’t listen till you commit friendly assault towards them.
“Mike. We talked about this. We’re not in some fucked up contest. Stuff’s allowed to mess you up, even if it seems like it’s little. That’s what Ms. Kelly tells me, anyway.”
It’s getting dark, and soon they’ll have to split up to get home on time. Even though they’re already late. They’ve both gotten pretty good at breaking rules lately.
“How is she? Ms. Kelly?”
Max shrugs. “She’s nice. I think she cares for real, at least a little. But shrinks don’t do me much good if I can’t get down to details, and believe me, I’d love to move out, but I haven’t really been looking in asylums.”
Mike laughs, and it’s not much, but it isn’t fake, which is good enough for Max. He’s stupid, and insensitive sometimes, and the biggest loser she knows, but she worries about him. They’re friends, and sure, Max can’t 100% speak for Mike, but they make each other feel better. More normal. Which, when you’ve fought a flesh monster the size of the mall, normalcy is kind of hard to come by.
Sometimes being around Mike makes Max sort of forget about the mall. Not fully. She doesn’t think there will ever come a moment where she doesn’t vividly remember every second of that night. But Mike- and she’d never tell him this to his face, it’d go straight to his head- is kind of like a brother to her. Not the way Billy was- Mike is cool, and does dumb shit with her, and they can talk about stuff like this. And it’s nice. Sometimes hanging out with him makes her feel like the Sinclairs’. But you can’t tell him. They’ll spill their guts to each other, but they draw the line at admitting they’re friends, let alone family.
Mike lays down, back in the grass, legs off the curb. Max follows him. They twin a lot. Mike has imagined her as his twin before.
“It’s getting colder,” Mike says, and he’s right. Halloween is coming up, which means soon if they want to hang out it’ll have to be indoors.
“Have you talked to El? About the holidays?”
There had been talk of some sort of reunion. For Christmas.
“Y-Yeah, uh. We decided I’d come out for spring break instead. It was just a lot of money for them, too soon after getting out there and everything, but it’s okay. More time to collect presents then I guess.”
Max nods.
“And have you talked to Will?”
For once, Max can’t tell if the silence is a no or a yes. Mike exhales.
“I told him I miss him, but nothing else really. I think he’s a lot happier. Being so far away from everything.”
“You-”
“Which I know doesn’t mean me specifically, yeah yeah, but I don’t wanna make him feel like he has to hold onto this place. Hawkins hurt him really bad. Hurt us really bad. He’s lucky he got away. I don’t wanna make him look back too much.”
Max hates him. Both Mike and Will. They’re so stupid. Maybe during spring break they’ll actually communicate. Knowing them, they won’t. But a girl can dream.
Mike kicks her. “I know you’re insulting us in your head.”
“But it’s nothing you haven’t heard before,” she says, kicking him back.
They both lay there for a little bit. Jackets on, ground cold, sky dark. It’s good.
But, apparently, all good things come to an end.
“Mike? C’mon, get up loser, it’s getting too late.”
Mike stays there a minute, arms over his eyes.
“Come on , it’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”
And Max is right, and it’s not like frozen dirt is comfortable. So he gets up, gives Max the look , the get home safe or else I swear look, and they part ways. They don’t hug, or really touch, ever, unless they’re beating each other up for fun. But Mike figures he doesn’t touch Nancy or Holly that much, so it’s fine. He misses her when she’s gone though. And then he misses Will, and El, and Lucas, and Dustin. He knows none of them are really gone, and he knows he’ll see them eventually. Some sooner than others. Like Max, tomorrow, to do exactly what they just did, but again.
Mike loves his family. Even if he isn’t always talking about the one he’s walking home to.