Chapter Text
When Eleven died, Max could have sworn Mike’s hair lost its curls.
She remembered one evening in particular that had encouraged this theory. It was a few weeks into living alone together, Mike had lost his temper at someone in class and Max hadn’t found a job yet so was drifting around the big empty house day after day. Max had heard Mike come through the front door and so had clumped down the stairs to see him. She found him sitting on the top step to the basement with an entire store bought pie on his lap, and was eating it with his hands. Whenever he pushed his hair out of his eyes he used his knuckles so as not to get smears of reddish berries in his hair.
It was then that Max took notice how smoothed out his hair was, with a mere bend in some of the ends. Thinking back, the last time she remembered him with curls was when they were peeking out from under that knitted hat he’d worn in the final stand against The Upsidedown and all its creatures.
She had sat crosslegged beside him. He had wordlessly offered the tin foil dish to her. She sighed and clawed a large chunk out with her fingers and ate it.
They ate the entire pie between them in wordless company.
(An hour or so later, they danced like wild children to Bowie on the radio, and threw up the pie on the kitchen sink and floor. But before that, they were a sticky quiet mess together.)
~
They chatted about nothing of much consequence for the rest of the drive.
As they got closer to their first destination, Max laughed less and held her knees up to her chest even though she wasn’t cold. She picked at the sleeves of the t-shirt she wore. The t-shirt was Mike's. Max had pinched it from his suitcase before they left the motel. She was pretty sure Mike had noticed, but he hadn’t said anything. Mike was wearing her bracelet. He hadn’t even been subtle about it, he’d just grabbed her wrist when they’d first got in the car, pulled it off and put it on his own wrist. She’d flicked his ear and he'd ignored her, smiling to himself.
It was a dull grey t-shirt. But it smelled like the Wheeler’s house.
“How far are we now?” Max asked, even though she already knew exactly where they were after pouring over the map obsessively.
“It’s just around this next corner.”
“Ok wait! Pull over here.”
Mike’s face questioned her, but he pulled over anyway before they could round the corner.
Max put her hand on the car door handle but it froze there. Her stomach churned and her muscles wouldn’t respond to her. A part of her wondered if she was going to be sick.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the door?” Mike asked, sounding far away to Max.
Max shook her head and her jaw twitched as she tried to bring everything into words.
“What if he calls me Maxine…and won’t call me Max?” She knew it was small and a silly little worry. It was all she could force herself to say.
She felt Mike touch her arm. She forced her body to turn towards him. He looked at her, his soft serious face on. He understood. That’s what they did. Understood each other.
Max reached out and wove her fingers into a clump of what was left of his hair and held onto it in a gentle fist. She tugged at his hair very lightly and just looked at him.
Mike had a few moles on his face. Due to the recent sun there were a few faint freckles. Around his eyes and in his forehead were little creases, more than he should have for his age. The corners of his mouth weren’t turned up in a smile, but he wasn’t frowning either, rather his expression was one of sincerity. For once what was going on behind his eyes seemed to match up with what he showed on his face. His head leaned slightly into her hand.
Max would never tell him this, but Mike was sort of beautiful.
“If that happens,” Mike said gently, “Then you call me, and I will come right back here to get you.”
Max smiled, and it spread across her entire face. “Micheal Wheeler…I think this kind of makes you my best friend.”
Mike’s eyes didn't soften exactly, but there was a warm change in them. He looked away and chuckled to himself quietly. He then gently untangeled Max’s fingers from his hair. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles then held her hand to his chest. He laughed at himself softly again.
“I thought El is your best friend.” He said.
It still hurt to hear her name spoken, but a bit less than before.
“I think I can have more than one.” Max gave his chest a little playful shove. “Dummy.”
“Moron.”
~
Max did make it out of the car eventually. Mike passed her little pile of belongings through the door. They agreed that Mike would stay in the car for fifteen minutes before driving onward, so if all turned to disaster Max could come right back.
Max said goodbye several times because she kept making up things she had to check like what time Mike would get to Nancy’s, and did he have the number she gave him for the house - all information she knew. Mike could tell when she was really saying goodbye because her breathing steadied. Her face set in determination. It was a face that had seen them through many a battle, most not metaphorical. Mike was going to miss her to no end.
When she began to close the car door, Mike leaned over the seat and put a hand out to hold it open. “I love you too by the way, in case you didn’t know.” He said, looking up at her, “But that stays between the two of us ok?”
Max guffawed. “Obviously.”
Mike let her shut the door. She only looked back once to shoot a rude hand gesture at him which he returned. She walked around the corner and out of sight.
Mike waited, as discussed, in case she came back. He waited twenty-five minutes.
He would have waited until the half hour but he couldn’t fool himself. If he didn’t drive away now he would stand less of a chance the next time he had to say a goodbye. He wiped his eyes and turned the key in the ignition.
He drove away and the world did not end.
~
Max did not stay with her dad for two weeks. She stayed a month.
When Max had given Mike the number of her dad’s house he’d said he’d probably lose it or forget the call at all. When Mike reached Nancy’s the first thing he did was call the number. Sometimes Mike is a liar.
They called each other every day without fail.
They could be on the phone for hours at a time sharing recent drama, complaining about mild inconveniences, or catching up on what each other were missing. There were also some days where the call would last less than a minute, Mike wouldn’t even say hello he would just ask something like how long yogurt could be eaten past the expiration date. Max would answer and ask something of similar mundanity and they would hang up.
Mike was updated on everything about Max’s dad. Apparently it was a little awkward at times between them, but sometimes he would surprise her with a quick witted joke and a twinkle in his eye. He didn’t like fish even though he lived in a big fishing community. He sunburned even easier than her. He made Max a mix-tape of his favourite songs he wanted to share with her. When Mike heard that he cried after they hung up. He couldn’t put his finger on why exactly until the next day Max called to say that her dad had invited her to stay a little longer, and she had agreed.
Between Mike and Max they planned to visit Will along with Lucas and Dustin. Will was busy so it wouldn’t be for a couple months, but it felt good to put it in the calendar. It took a lot for Max to get Mike to talk about it, but when she did Mike sounded genuinely excited to see everyone, particularly Will in person again.
Sometimes they’d be talking about Will and Mike would stop talking so Max would sit, just waiting on the other side of the line. Most of the time Mike would break the silence by changing the subject. Once and a while though, he would say small things.
Such as when Will sent everyone a portrait, Mike told her offhandedly as he could, that Will had got the curve of his nose exactly right.
~
Max was planning to come home late evening on a Friday, but when she found out there was an earlier bus that could get her there earlier in the afternoon, she decided she had to.
The bus was hot and cramped, so as hellish as expected. When she saw the “Welcome to Hawkings” sign she started imagining what she would do when she stepped through the Wheeler’s door. Her door.
She imagined, for her own entertainment, climbing through a back window to scare the daylights out of Mike. The more likely scenario was that she’d knock on the door, Mike would open it and make a dumb joke, she would swat his head and that would be that, they would be back to normal.
As the bus passed through town, she watched out the window as the people went by. She recognised most of them. She kept having to remind herself that she really hadn’t been gone for that long at all. Her pulse quickened when she saw bikes go past, but it was just some random kids, enjoying summer. They cycled wide around the thin scar across the road The Upsidedown had left behind.
Walking down the sidewalk up ahead was a figure in a blue shirt with dark hair and a green plastic bag swinging in his grasp.
If you had told Max several years ago that she would be slamming on the bus window and calling for the bus driver to stop because she had seen Mike Wheeler of all people, she would have snorted and possibly also stamped on your foot for good measure.
But that is precisely what she did.
She almost fell right on her face in her hurry off the bus. She ran with all her bags hanging off her down the street, yelling in the direction of her friend.
She was only a few steps from him by the time he heard her and turned. His smile opened up across his entire face. He dropped the bag of groceries just in time as she dropped her belongings and leapt on him.
Somehow Mike didn’t lose his balance as they clung to each other. Max had jumped onto him so high her legs were wrapped around his middle and her arms circled his head. She could hear and feel Mike saying something muffled and laughing. She buried her face in his hair. He’d cut it to even it out so it was a little shorter than before, but it still smelled like their house.
From the abandoned green groceries bag peeked out a carton of orange juice with bits.
In a minute or two they’d get embarrassed, part and hug with a little more dignity.
In a year or so, who knew where they would be and what they would be doing?
(Though it is easy to predict that for all the rest of their lives they would never be irreparably far from one another)
But before that they clung to each other in selfish abandon.