*44. dude

2.9K 127 105
                                    

DUDE

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

DUDE

✧・゚: * "There! There she is!"

"Where?!"

"Here! Just turn here!"

"With those dudes on the ground, go!"

"What are those dudes doing on the ground, man?!"

"Hurry up, she's right there!"

"Just turn here!"

"Go, hurry!"

Max, Will, Mike, and Nora all yell over Jonathan and Argyle as they turn into the desert, following huge tire tracks to a clearing where fallen people are scattered about, El in the middle of them all.

Jonathan speeds up as the group watches El stand up and put her hand out to make the helicopter flying overtop go haywire.

The helicopter goes crashing down in the opposite direction, but Nora finds herself ignoring it as she runs up to El from behind and immediately wraps her arms around the girl in a hug.

"Nora," El says, clearly taken aback, but she hugs back soon enough.

"God, I was so worried," Mike comes up to hug his girlfriend as well, Max and Will after him, and once everyone's hugged and reconnected, they all get back into the van.

"We have to get back to Hawkins," El says from the middle of Mike and Will as Max and Nora sit facing them, their backs to to the driver's and passenger's seats. "Soon."

"We know," Mike assures. "We're working on it. We'll be there soon."

"I think I need to. . ." El starts, trying to work out the plan in her mind before saying it out loud. "We need to stop somewhere. . . somewhere with ice."

✧・゚: * So, now they're pulling into a Surfer Boy's Pizza Shop parking lot for El to become telepathically connected with someone in Hawkins so she can see what they're up to and provide any help from the mental plane if necessary.

Y'know, the usual.

"Sorry for freaking out on you," Mike says as the two sit across from each other in a booth in the place. "In the van I mean."

Will and Jonathan are in the back working on the ice thing while El and Max are sucked into a conversation with Argyle on the other side of the restaurant.

"It's fine," Nora stares. "I'm sorry too, I guess. . . . I have to ask, though," she starts again after a second. "Was it because of me and Max? Like the stuff I told you, I mean. I dunno, do you, like, see me differently or. . ."

"No!" Mike is quick to assure. "No, that's. . . fine, yeah, no, I don't mind. . . that. . . at all, I mean, yeah no. You guys are cute."

"Right. . ." Nora nods, taken aback by how flustered he got. "Thanks?"

"Yeah. Um, yeah," he takes a breath. "Actually. Um. . ." He's clearly trying to find the right words.

"Yeah?" Nora stares after Mike pauses for a solid minute.

"I don't know, I just. . ." he shakes his head. "I don't know. Never mind."

"Is this. . . is it about Will?" Nora takes a shot and tries commenting on the weird the tension the two have had this whole trip.

Mike stares at her, looks down, stares again, and clearly has too much going on in his mind right now.

"Do you love Max?" He asks finally, and now Nora's the one who doesn't know what to say.

"Um, well, like. . . y'know. . ."

"Yes or no, Nora, I'm asking for scientific purposes."

"Well, for the sake of science. . . yeah. I love her." Holy shit, I said it out loud.

"You should tell her," Argyle's voice comes out of nowhere.

He squeezes into a seat beside Mike with a box of pizza.

"Tell who what?" El comes to sit in the seat beside Nora.

"Don't worry about it," Nora puts an arm around El's shoulders. "Cute shirt."

"It's yours, Nor," Max says as she pulls up a chair to sit on the end. "Stole it."

"It'll make it's way back to me," Nora shrugs it off. "A lot of things in my life manage to do that."

Max just shakes her head at Nora's attempt at being deep and cryptic and picks up a slice of the pineapple pizza.

"Oh, that's gross," Mike stares as she takes a slice.

"You're gross," Nora defends, taking her own slice.

"It's so good, Mike, you have to try it," El picks up a slice to offer it to him.

"No, nope, goes against everything I stand for," Mike leans away even as Argyle starts pushing him forward.

"Please, try it," Nora's amused too now.

"I won't, I can't do it," Mike keeps pushing away.

"I'll give you 20 bucks for it," Max offers.

This makes him pause.

"Deal," he closes his eyes right and takes a bite.

"Can borrow 20 dollars, Nor?" Max tries whispering across the table.































































a/n:
one step closer to the L word 😆

talk too much | max mayfieldWhere stories live. Discover now